


take my heart and please don't break it

by mothmanwashere



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Background Reed900 - Freeform, F/M, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), M/M, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s), Post-Divorce, The twins are named Cole and Camden, thread-fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-11 00:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20536886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothmanwashere/pseuds/mothmanwashere
Summary: The Hankcon Parent Trap AU no one asked forOriginally posted to Twitter as a thread-fic and now on AO3 for ease of access





	take my heart and please don't break it

**Author's Note:**

> The original thread is here: http://twitter.com/mothmanwashere/status/1158220353384124416?s=21

Connor sat at his desk, sketching a new design for the line he was presenting next month. The wedding boutique he had opened with all the money he could possibly scrape together had, in the past eight years, become an absolute success, with brides queueing down the streets of London to buy a gown from Connor Stern. It was hard work but it was work Connor loved, and he never would have traded it for anything.   
  
Connor heard the front door open downstairs and the low tone of his brother’s voice reverberate through the house. Connor smiled, pushing back from his seat to head down the stairs. He’d planned to go to the airport himself this morning but found himself in a conference call that kept dragging on. He was nearly about to hang up on them entirely when Niles had eagerly offered to go instead. They had all missed Camden while he was away at summer camp, but Connor was sorely disappointed he hadn’t been able to pick his son up himself.  
  
Connor rounded the corner to see his son looking around wide-eyed at the house he’d

grown up in, taking it in as if he’d been away a hundred years and not three months. Camden turned his wide, blue eyes on Connor and broke into a grin that melted Connor’s heart on the spot.  
  
“Papa!” Camden cried, shuffling forward to fall into Connor’s arms and hug him tightly.

Connor hugged him back just as tight, emotion winding itself around his throat as he buried his nose in Camden’s soft blond hair, smelling sunshine and pine and little boy sweat. It was everything Connor had missed while he was away, and even though he knew he was being overly sentimental, he couldn’t help but feel like he never wanted to let Camden out of his sight again.   
  
“Hi sweetheart,” Connor murmured against Camden’s hair, stroking it gently as he pulled back from the embrace to smile at his son. “We missed you! Three months is way too long!”

Camden nodded, and Connor could hear the barest hint of a sniffle that the boy tried to disguised. “I missed you too, Papa,” he said quietly.   
  
“How was camp?” Connor asked. “Did you have fun?”  
  
Camden nodded. “I made friends with a boy from California. He’s allergic to strawberries too!”  
  
Connor laughed gently. “I hope you didn’t find out the hard way.”  
  
Camden shook his head. “No, we didn’t.”  
  
“Well. You must tell me all about it, but Nanna ‘Manda made your favorite for dinner, so let’s go see if there’s anything we can do to help her.”

Camden’s face lit up. “Okay Papa!”  
  
Connor beamed, tousling a gentle hand through his son’s silky hair before guiding him toward the kitchen to see his grandmother.  
  
He really had no idea what he would do without Camden in his life, and for a brief moment, as he often did, Connor took a moment to mourn what he had left behind.  
  
As much as Connor loved his job and his house with his mother and Niles and Camden, there would always be a missing piece of his heart that stayed with another blond haired little boy who also shared his father’s blue eyes.  
  
—

Hank Anderson grinned as he watched his son fly as fast as he could down the steps of the plane. No sooner did Cole’s feet hit the tarmac than the kid was racing toward Hank, his duffel bag forgotten. He stopped short, almost hesitating, but Hank held his arms out with a growl

of “get in these arms, ya punk” and Cole was leaping into Hank’s embrace.

Hank hugged his son tight, relishing the weight of the 11 year old even as his back protested picking him up. Hank did it anyway. “Why’d I let you go away that long, huh?” Hank asked as he sat Cole’s feet back against the pavement. “Your old dad just about went stir-crazy with just Gavin for company.”  
  
“I’m sure you stayed busy, Dad,” Cole laughed.   
  
“Let’s get your bag and get you home,” Hank said, ushering his son toward the attendant piling bags out of the storage compartment with a hand between two slender shoulder blades. They found Cole’s duffel with little trouble and headed for Hank’s old pick-up truck. The drive back to the vineyard was an easy one, and half of it was Hank’s own property, so there wasn’t much traffic to worry about.

As Hank drove, Cole chattered about camp and the things he’d done and a boy he’d met and hit it off with. Hank couldn’t help but grin as he listened to his son ramble.  
  
“Sounds like you had a great time, bug.”  
  
“It was a lovely experience.”  
  
Hank turned his head to look at his son, eyebrows raised. “‘Scuse me? It was a ‘lovely experience’? Did I send you to summer camp or finishing school?”  
  
Cole rolled his eyes. “I mean, like, it was great.”  
  
“They teach how to talk fancy at that camp?”  
  
“My friend— the one i told you about — he’s from London. maybe

he rubbed off on me or something.”  
  
“I ain’t complaining, bug, I’m just teasing,” Hank said, pulling into the driveway and up to the house. Cole stared up at the house like he’d never seen the place before, or maybe he was just looking for Gavin or Sumo.   
  
The big St Bernard came lumbering down the steps when he heard the truck and let out a deep “boof” as Hank and Cole got out of the truck. Hank patted the dog’s rump as he greeted them.   
  
“Hi Sumo!” Cole said, but he didn’t fall to his knees to greet the dog like he usually would.   
  
Hank eyed his son but decided not to press the issue. “Take your bag upstairs and then come on out back, Cole. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”  
  
From the porch, Hank heard the creak of the screen door opening and his long-time friend, Gavin Reed, stepped onto the porch. “Hey punk!” Gavin called out, his crooked grin fixed on Cole. “Welcome home!”  
  
Cole scampered up the steps to greet Gavin with a hug.  
  
“You grew so much, kid, what the hell did they feed you at that camp?”  
  
Hank pulled his attention from the reunion on the porch at the ring of his phone. “Its

Hank,” he said, answering it.  
  
“Hanky, darling, are you back yet?” Chloe’s relaxed tone was only superficial.  
  
“Only just,” Hank said, tucking his phone into the crook of his neck. “You?”  
  
“Elijah and I got back an hour ago, we wanted to go over the new label designs.”  
  
“I was hoping to introduce you to Cole,” Hank said.   
  
“We’ve got all the time in the world, don’t we, Hank?”  
  
“My son just got home from camp,” Hank said. “No business tonight. Tell Elijah I’ll go over the designs in the morning.”  
  
“Fine,” Chloe said, but Hank knew it wasn’t. “I’ll be up to the house in a few minutes.”  
  
“I think Gavin made chili,” Hank said.  
  
He could practically hear the disgust in Chloe’s response. “I ate already.”  
  
Hank shook his head as he hung up the phone. He had no idea what a pretty blonde thing like her was doing hanging around an old mean man like Hank. Then again, maybe he did have an idea. Not that he minded too much. Hank lived and breathed for Cole and his happiness, but there was a part of him that ached with loneliness. He missed the warm body in his bed, missed the distinct taste of cologne licked from the curve of a neck. Chloe was pretty and she’d been the one to start all this, and who was Hank to say no?  
  
He hoped Cole liked her. The kid could use another parent around, even if she was nearly young enough to be Cole’s sister.  
  
Hank slipped his phone back in his pocket and followed Gavin and Cole up the steps and into the kitchen for some chili and cornbread.  
  
Despite everything, Cole was still Hank’s priority. And he always would be.  
  
—

Once Camden was in bed for the evening, Connor enlisted Niles to help take down the ‘Welcome Home’ banner that they had hung in the living room. Connor folded it neatly and left it on the coffee table where Camden could find it if he wanted to keep it. Niles left him momentarily

but returned with two fragrant cups of tea. He settled into the sofa beside Connor and leaned back, crossing his legs. “It’s nice to have him back.”  
  
“You told me I was foolish to want children,” Connor teased.  
  
“That was over twelve years ago and you know it,” Niles volleyed.

“Yes and now you’re so fond of my son that the two of you have your own secret handshake,” Connor said, hiding his grin over the lip of his cup.  
  
“I still would not want one of my own,” Niles said. “I’m quite content to borrow yours.”  
  
“Have I told you lately how much I appreciate the way you help with him?” Connor asked. Niles hated when he got too sentimental, but Connor still had to say it. “I’d be completely lost without you.”  
  
“I doubt that very much, but I assure you, there is nowhere I would rather be.”  
  
“Thank you,” Connor hummed.

“Does he seen a bit out of sorts to you?” Niles asked then, turning his gaze toward the quiet staircase where Camden’s room sat just to the left. “A bit twitchy, at the least?”  
  
“It’s probably a lot for him,” Connor said. “Three months with children his own age, and then coming back home where he won’t see most of his friends at school for nearly three weeks yet.”  
  
Niles took a sip of his tea. “Perhaps you’re right.”  
  
“I’m sending a ‘but’.”  
  
“Don’t be so fretful, Connor, I’m sure you know your own son well enough to gauge if there was a larger issue at hand.”  
  
“I can smell the sarcasm on your breath, Niles, and it isn’t appreciated.”  
  
“Connor,” Niles chided. “I’m not questioning your parenting skills. I’m making an observation.”  
  
Connor sighed, his memories weighing too heavily on his chest to make breathing easy. “I know.”

“I know you feel like you’re doing this alone, but Mother and I won’t let that happen,” Niles said. “We love you, and Camden.”  
  
“But it wasn’t supposed to be _you_,” Connor said. “He was supposed to have a built in best friend. Not an uncle who softened into a companion and a father who can only be so many places at once.”  
  
“You’re doing fine,” Niles said firmly. “Camden is happy. You are the one who is discontent with the situation.”  
  
“I haven’t seen my son in over eleven years,” Connor whispered bitterly.   
  
“Then contact Hank and do something about it,” Niles said. Connor disliked how straightforward his tone was. As if this situation could really be so simple as to be fixed with a phone call.  
  
“You know I can’t.”  
  
“I don’t know that, actually,” Niles reminded him. “I never understood why the two of you decided to sort it this way.”  
  
“We did it because we never wanted to see each other again.”  
  
“Hm. Well. Seems the emotions of one sort overrode the logical pull of another,” Niles said. “But it has been a full decade. Perhaps it’s time to revisit the subject.”  
  
Connor shook his head. “No.”

Niles leveled his brother with an icy stare. “Someday, brother, I will make you tell me what was so awful about your marriage you had to leave the country.”  
  
“It wasn’t his fault.”  
  
“I know,” Niles said crisply. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be so afraid of it.”  
  
—

Hank listened to Cole and Gavin chat about camp, the boy shyly but enthusiastically telling Gavin all the best things he'd already shared with Hank on the drive home. He was glad his son was home, but his mind was admittedly preoccupied. Chloe hadn't appeared yet, but Hank was

anxious to introduce her to Cole. He desperately wanted Cole to like her. He wanted to be with Chloe more for Cole's sake than his own even. It felt unfair to Cole for Hank to not even try to allow the boy a second parent. Hank could only do so much -- he was only one person,

and sure, Gavin was a great nanny even if he'd wrestle Hank to the ground for calling him that -- but Hank always felt some guilt over raising Cole in a single-parent home. Chloe could be a good mom.  
  
Hank's gaze slid toward the door as it opened and the tall, slim blonde he'd spent the summer getting to know stepped inside. Hank caught Gavin's eye, and he watched the man roll them sarcastically before he collected the empty chili bowls and headed for the kitchen. Cole stood, like he was going to follow Gavin, but Hank put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey bug, I want to introduce you to Chloe."  
  
Cole paused before sitting back down in his chair. Chloe perched on the chair on the other side of Hank, across from the boy. Cole eyed Chloe with open skepticism. "Hi."  
  
"So you are the famous Cole!" Chloe said, plastering on a wide smile. "Your father does not stop talking about you! I feel like I know you already."  
  
Cole nodded, glancing toward Hank. "I was at camp."  
  
"Hey, you know what?" Hank said. "I think I've got some ice cream in the freezer. Why don't I scrounge up some bowls and we can celebrate with your favorite?"  
  
"What are we celebrating?"  
  
Hank froze, his gaze sliding toward Chloe. She lifted a manicured brow as if to say "Your foot, your mouth", but then turned a saccharine smile on Cole. "Your homecoming of course!"  
  
Cole smiled, nodding eagerly. Hank headed for the kitchen, hoping maybe a moment alone would spur the two toward some kind of conversation. Chloe was young, but Cole was always charismatic. He was sure the two of them could get along, given the opportunity.  
  
"You told him yet?"  
  
Hank glanced toward Gavin as he dug through the freezer. "Not yet."  
  
"You gotta tell him, Hank."  
  
"I introduced them three fucking seconds ago, Gavin, christ. Let the kid breathe."  
  
Gavin rolled his eyes. "Cole can handle it.""I'm letting them get acquainted," Hank argued. "I'm not hiding it."

"The kid's gonna figure it out if you don't tell him soon," Gavin said. Hank closed the freezer door, setting the ice cream on the counter. Gavin was propped against the counter, his arms folded against his chest.  
  
"I'll /tell/ him, Gavin, get off my dick," Hank hissed.

"Ha! That real estate is occupied by fuckin' Miss 'I'll just have half a grapefruit, thanks' out there."  
  
"Gavin, you're my best friend, and I say this with love -- go fuck yourself."  
  
Gavin turned and walked toward the back door with one middle finger raised. Hank retrieved

bowls and spoons, balancing them with the chocolate ice cream, and returned to the table where Cole and Chloe were. "What'd I miss?"  
  
Cole grinned sweetly at Hank, and he couldn't help but smile back. "Nothin' Dad."  
  
Chloe, on the other hand, looked like she'd swallowed a lemon.

Maybe the whole "getting along" thing was going to take a little more effort than Hank had planned.  
  
\--

Connor, as a rule, tried his best not to overparent. It was difficult at times, but he truly believed it was best if he allowed Camden to come to him with most things in his own time, instead of prying too deeply and being shut out in return. As a result, Connor believed that

he and Camden had quite a close and healthy relationship. 

  
However, that said, when Connor heard Camden's voice in the coat closet, he couldn't help but pause a moment at the strange tilt of Camden's voice. "What do you /mean/ he's dating? He doesn't date. At least not seriously."  
  
Connor's brow rose and he suddenly realized just how old his son was. Did he need to have The Talk with Camden?   
  
"You're breaking up, I can't hear you!" There was a strange crunching noise that did not seem to be coming from the phone. Connor took a quick step just as Camden came out of the coat closet. He looked startled to see Connor standing a few feet away. "Oh, hi Papa."  
  
"Were you on the phone just now?" Connor asked.  
  
"Yes!" Camden said, a little too eagerly. "With my friend. From camp."  
  
"Everything all right?"

Camden nodded. "Sure is. He's just having some... problems."  
  
"And you get better reception in the closet?"  
  
Camden laughed nervously. "It's... like camp tradition. Kinda weird, but hey."  
  
Connor's brows were sky-high by now, but he let Camden excuse himself without pressing

any further. Connor moved to the living room and laid down on the sofa, an arm thrown over his eyes. That was where Amanda found him some minutes later.  
  
"Is everything all right, Connor?"  
  
"My son is nearly a teenager," he lamented.   
  
Amanda chuckled, perching on the chair beside where Connor's head rested. "Yes."  
  
"How did you raise two of them at once? Surely Niles and I were hellions. At least Camden is a sweetheart."  
  
"It wasn't easy, if that's what you're implying," Amanda said, and Connor could hear the warm smile in her voice without even lifting his arm. "What's brought this crisis on? Did something happen?"  
  
"Niles thought he'd been acting strangely since he came home, and then I heard him on the phone with his camp friend, talking about someone dating. I just realized he's grown up so quickly, and soon he'll be... doing all those things. Is it too late to return him?"  
  
Amanda laughed. "Just a bit, my dear. Don't worry, it's just as difficult for him as it is for you."  
  
"Not reassuring, but thank you, Mother."  
  
"We could always make Niles talk to him."  
  
"As much as I would love to subject Niles to that, I could never do that to poor Camden."  
  
"Good," Amanda said. "Just talk to him, Connor. The two of you have never had an issue you couldn't work through before."  
  
"You're right," Connor said, dropping his hand from his face. "Always."

Amanda winked. "Took you long enough to catch on."  
  
\--

Once upon a time, Hank and Gavin had been detectives. It felt like another lifetime, sometimes, and Hank had fallen out of love with the job long before Gavin did. But, when his friend needed help after a quick and painful divorce, Gavin hadn’t hesitated to be there for him.

It wasn’t like Gavin needed to be shot again, anyway. The force would go on without him.  
  
Still. While Hank was perfectly content to play sommelier on the vineyard he’d inherited from his grandfather, there was a part of Gavin that had never stopped being a cop.  
  
Or, at least made him a little quicker on the uptake than most folks.  
  
So when Cole came home from camp as twitchy as all get-out, refused to get closer to Sumo than a couple hesitant head-pats, and without the voracious appetite Gavin had been catering to for eleven years, he knew something was very wrong.  
  
It couldn’t be the engagement. Hank hadn’t even fuckin’ told the kid yet, after all, and even though Cole was smart, he probably wouldn’t jump to that immediate conclusion. After all, he’d only been gone 12 weeks.  
  
So Gavin, ever the detective even if he’d traded in his badge for a diaper bag a decade ago, made the logical conclusion that something had happened at camp and was still bothering the kid.   
  
Gavin whipped up a stack of chocolate chip pancakes, doused them in whipped cream, and called Cole down to the table.  
  
Once Cole had tucked into the pancakes, Gavin hunkered into the seat next to him. “What’s eatin’ ya, punk?”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“You’ve been actin’ weird since you came home, kid,” Gavin said, trying to keep his voice gentle. “I practically raised you, you can’t fool me.”

Cole hunched up his shoulders, dragging his fork through a melted chocolate chip on his plate. “I just... haven’t felt like myself, I guess. I promise it’s nothing bad.”  
  
Gavin frowned, more concerned than anything. He reached out and dragged his finger through

the whipped cream starting to melt atop Cole’s pancakes, popping the sweet cream into his mouth. “I believe you kid, I just want you to know you can talk to your old pal Gav.”  
  
Cole smiled, a small, sad little thing that told Gavin there was definitely more going on than Cole

wanted to share. “Yeah. Thanks.”  
  
“You gettin’ sick, or is there something else wrong?”  
  
Cole’s gaze drifted off to some corner of the room. “Nothing’s wrong.”  
  
“You aren’t eating,” Gavin said, keeping his voice non-accusatory as he stole another swipe of whipped cream. “Sumo won’t go near you anymore. I heard you talking to somebody in your bathroom in the middle of the night.” Gavin sat back, huffing out a quiet laugh. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were—“  
  
Gavin stopped, biting his tongue before he could say too much, even as the gears

in his head whirred into overtime. Cole’s summer camp had been in Michigan. It was— but no, he’d heard Connor had moved to London. But didn’t he still have family out there? A brother? Not the hot one, but... his twin. Silas? No, there was no way that—  
  
“You’d think I was who, Gavin?” Cole asked quietly, staring up at Gavin with wide, nervous, blue eyes that... that were flecked with less brown around the edges than they should have been. Holy shit. How hadn’t he noticed sooner?  
  
“You’d think I was Camden?”  
  
Gavin swallowed hard, staring at the kid sitting next to him like he couldn’t believe his eyes. “How do you know about Camden?”  
  
“I am Camden.”  
  
Relief and disbelief washed over Gavin in tandem and he collapsed back in his chair like his bones had dissolved. “I fuckin’ knew it. Holy shit, kid, you— c’mere, bud.”

Gavin sat up and held his arms out for the boy. Camden stood and dove into them like he needed the embrace more than air. Gavin held him close, letting Camden bury his face in Gavin’s chest as long as he needed to. When the boy finally pulled away, he wiped tears from his eyes.

“Are you angry?”  
  
Gavin shook his head. “Nah, kid, never. Just missed you.”  
  
“You don’t even know me,” Camden said.  
  
“Sure I do, bud,” Gavin said, giving Camden a crooked grin. “Me and your Uncle Niles were the best tag team babysitters in the world. I just haven’t seen you in a while.”  
  
Camden let out a little laugh, thick with tears, and surged forward to hug Gavin again. “Cole told me you were the best.”  
  
“What are you doing here bud? Is Cole in London?”  
  
Camden nodded, sitting back in his chair and swallowing hard. “We met at camp and wanted to meet our other dad, so... we switched places.”  
  
“Jesus Christ,” Gavin said. “Sorry, fuck, I’m sorry, I gotta stop swearing.”  
  
“I don’t care.”  
  
“Yeah but Connor will, shit.”  
  
Camden smiles tightly at the mention of his guardian. “Please don’t tell them yet.”  
  
“Oh trust me, kid, I don’t want to,” Gavin chuckled. “That’s all on you two.”  
  
Lumbering footsteps warned the two that Hank was approaching, and Camden quickly wiped his face and tucked back into his stack of pancakes.  
  
“You made pancakes?” Hank asked, tousling Camden’s hair as he walked past.  
  
“On the stove,” Gavin told him, then winked at Camden as Hank headed into the kitchen.  
  
Camden smiled the most genuine smile Gavin had seen on him since he got here and Gavin had to wonder if Niles or Connor had figured out that their Camden was actually Cole yet.  
  
Nah. Probably not.  
  
—

Hank decided to take Cole out riding on the vineyard so they could be alone when he told him the news. It was something Hank himself was still coming to terms with and god knew he’d never been good at commitment in his life, so he still hadn’t wrapped his head around the fact

that he’d really given an engagement ring to a woman he’d only known a few months.  
  
But he told himself that it was for Cole, and that when Chloe stopped pretending to be interested in Hank, maybe she’d still stick around and be there for Cole. He’s never met anyone who could resist that little smile, after all.   
  
Cole was thrilled to be out with just his dad, a little stiff in the saddle but somehow more comfortable on horseback than Hank had ever seen him.   
  
“What was it you wanted to talk about, Dad?” Cole asked eventually, as the two of them rode

side by side down a wide aisle lined in grapevines.   
  
“I wanted to ask what you thought of Chloe,” Hank said, watching Cole’s expression carefully.  
  
Cole shrugged. “She seems nice, I guess. Good teeth. Nice hair. She kinda looks like those, uh, weird robot things that they put the artificial intelligence units into. But, like, in a pretty way, I guess.”  
  
Hank huffed out a laugh. “Might be best to keep that comparison between you and me, bug.”  
  
“You asked,” Cole reminded him, grinning. “Why do you wanna know what I think of Chloe?”  
  
“Well, uh,” Hank faltered. He’d practiced so often what he wanted to say to Cole, but actually having to say it was so much more difficult. Cole just waited patiently with those sweet, wide eyes that had always reminded him of Connor’s, even if they had Hank’s own coloring. And goddamn, if the last thing Hank wanted wasn’t to be thinking about his ex-husband while trying to tell his son about his new fiancée, but the older Cole got, the harder it was to dodge Connor-based questions. And the older Cole got, the more his little quirks and mannerisms reminded Hank of the man his son had never met.  
  
“I wanted to know how you felt about Chloe joining the family, bug,” Hank finally managed.  
  
Cole’s brows raised high on his forehead as Hank held his breath. “Sure!”  
  
The exuberance with which Cole responded surprised Hank greatly. “Really?”  
  
“Yeah, Dad! I’ve always wanted a big sister!”  
  
An emotion Hank could not have named with a gun to his head washed over him like ice water. “No, Cole, I— what? I’m going to marry her.”  
  
And in an instant, Cole’s expression turned sour. “Marry her? Why would you marry her?!”  
  
Hank sat still, flustered and floundering as his son began to babble about what a terrible idea marrying Chloe would be. He was so stunned that he almost didn’t notice when the upset words pouring from Cole’s mouth stopped being English.  
  
“Wait, Cole, are you speaking French?”

The question stopped the boy cold, frozen mid-sentence.  
  
“Where did you learn /French/?”  
  
“A-at camp.”  
  
“In /Michigan/?”  
  
Cole was only silent for another beat before he was kicking his horse and taking off at a run across the field, headed back for the house.  
  
“Cole!” Hank shouted after him, turning his horse to follow. “Cole come back!”  
  
Cole’s horse was faster than Hank’s, but she was waiting on the grassy patch between the barn and the path up to the house. Gavin was outside, looking at Hank judgmentally.   
  
“Did you—“  
  
“He’s fine, he’s in the house,” Gavin interrupted. “I would give him some space. I take it you finally told him?”  
  
Hank ran a hand through his beard, staring hard at the window that he knew was Cole’s bedroom. “He thought I was adopting her.”  
  
Gavin cackled. “Christ, I love that kid.”  
  
—

Connor had planned a day off to spend with Camden, to see if he could get him to open up about whatever was causing his odd behavior. Camden was thrilled to have a day to spend with just his papa, and the two of them went out to lunch and shopping for school clothes for the new school year.  
  
“Hey Papa?” Camden asked, slipping his hand into his father’s as they crossed the street toward the restaurant Camden had chosen.  
  
“Yes, love?”  
  
“Can I ask you a question and you promise you won’t get mad?”  
  
Connor’s attention was suddenly laser-focused in his son.

“Of course, Cam,” Connor said earnestly. “Anything.”  
  
“Will you tell me about my father?”  
  
Connor blinked, tilting his head. Out of all the questions he had anticipated., this one was low on the list. He supposed he couldn’t evade it forever. “And I assume you don’t mean me,”

Connor said, trying to keep his voice light.  
  
“Please, Papa? I know Uncle Niles said you don’t like to talk about him, but I don’t know anything about him.”  
  
Connor squeezed Camden’s hand tight. “What do you want to know, darling?”  
  
“How did you two meet?”  
  
Connor smiled. At least Camden was starting with the easy questions. “We met on a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan.”  
  
“No kidding?”  
  
“Your uncle Silas won the ticket in a raffle and dragged me along with him. Your father and I were seated next to each other at dinner.”  
  
“Was it love at first sight?”

Connor smiled wistfully. “It felt like it. We met, and we were married by the end of the year.”  
  
“Was he handsome?”  
  
“Very,” Connor said earnestly. “He was a police officer when I met him. The uniform was a perk.”  
  
Camden bit his lip, peering up at Connor. Apprehension coiled low in Connor’s stomach, knowing the questions were about to get harder. “Why’d you split up?”  
  
Connor sighed, stroking a hand through his son’s hair. “It’s hard to explain. But I loved him while we were together, and now I have you, and that’s all I need.”  
  
“Don’t you miss him?”

Connor smiled sadly. “Sometimes. But let’s get lunch, okay? And then we can keep looking for that new backpack, okay?”  
  
Camden nodded, a bright grin returning to his face. “Okay.”  
  
—

Hank agonized over his failed conversation with Cole all day and into the next. Chloe hummed some pacifying bullshit about him getting used to it, and Hank wanted to believe her, but he wanted to hear it from Cole instead. Cole didn’t avoid Hank the next day, though he was

quieter than usual. Chloe had to take a trip down to the city, and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.   
  
It was that evening, when Hank was relaxing in bed, a magazine in hand, that he heard small, creeping footsteps outside his bedroom, followed by a soft knock.  
  
“Come in.”

Cole’s curly blond head popped through the door, his lower lip caught between his teeth. “Hi Dad.”  
  
“Hey bug, everything all right?”  
  
“Can I sleep with you tonight?”  
  
“Of course,” Hank said, patting the covers beside him. Cole was quick to scramble up onto the bed. “Did you have a bad dream?”  
  
“I just missed you,” Cole said quietly, his cheek pressed to the pillow. “Dad?”  
  
“Yeah, bug?”  
  
“Do you love Chloe?”  
  
Hank sat his magazine down. “Why do you ask?”  
  
“You said you’re gonna marry her,” Cole said. “So do you love her?”  
  
“She’s a very nice woman,” Hank said instead.  
  
“That’s not a yes.”  
  
“It’s complicated.”  
  
“Did you love my papa?”

Hank’s breath caught in his chest. The question was simple, and Hank knew the answer without hesitation. “Yes.”

“But you don’t anymore.”

“Cole, it’s not that simple,” Hank said.

“Why not?”

And wasn’t that the question for the ages? Why couldn’t love be as simple as being with someone you loved?  
  
“Because grown ups like to make things complicated,” Hank tried instead. “Your papa and I— we loved each other, but sometimes it’s possible to love someone too much. And when you do, it’s scary. And when people are scared, they do and say things they don’t mean.”  
  
“You were scared of Papa?”  
  
“Kind of,” Hank said. He thought of Connor — so graceful and vivacious and earnest. He wore his heart on his sleeve, like Cole did, but Connor could also be frighteningly hard to read. After a certain point, Hank was too afraid to ask what the truth was. And he was so afraid of driving Connor away that he’d let him go. “Do you remember that bird you rescued last year? How you wanted to keep it, but you knew it wouldn’t be happy unless it was allowed to fly away?”  
  
Cole propped his chin up on his hand. “Was Papa the bird?”  
  
Hank nodded. “Your papa was the bird.”  
  
Cole scooted over and cuddled up against Hank’s side. “I don’t think Chloe is right for you,” he said quietly. “She seems fake.”

“Will you give her a chance, at least?”  
  
“If you want,” Cole said quietly. “But I think you should try being the bird now, Dad.”  
  
Cole closed his eyes, and Hank thought about Connor.  
  
—

Cole snagged the cell phone from where Connor had left it on the coffee table and hurried outside for some privacy. He’d been dodging Camden’s attempts to contact him for a full day now, and even though he’d only been using the landline, Cole knew Connor was upstairs tying it up with a conference call.  
  
Cole tucked himself behind a rose bush in Grandma Amanda’s garden and dialed the phone number he’d had memorized since he started kindergarten. Camden picked up within one ring. “Finally! Cole, where have you been?”  
  
“I’m sorry, Papa and Niles are everywhere,” Cole said, his voice low just in case someone decided to step outside. “How’s it going?”  
  
“Dad’s getting married!”  
  
“What?! Cam, tell me you’re joking.”  
  
“I would never joke about something like this,” Camden said. “She’s got a ring and everything and she’s awful.”  
  
“I though you said they were just dating?”  
  
“I thought they were! But he told me he’s marrying her and I threw a fit. We have to do something about this, Cole. Even if we don’t get them back together, we can’t let Dad marry her. She’s-she’s Cruella de Ville.”  
  
“Fine, I-“ Cole sighed, glancing up toward the house. “I’ll tell him tonight.”  
  
“Hurry Cole!”  
  
Camden hung up, and Cole was left in the garden, contemplating how much he liked it here - how much he liked being with Papa and Niles and Grandma Amanda, but also how much he missed home, and his dad’s hugs and Gavin’s chocolate chip pancakes.  
  
He didn’t even notice Amanda until she stood from where she’d been weeding a bush, brushed her hands off, and turned toward Cole. “I think it’s time you and I had a little chat,” she said, and Cole turned wide, nervous eyes in her direction. “Don’t you think?”  
  
“How much did you hear?”  
  
“Enough,” Amanda said, and Cole could tell she was being honest. “Come, Cole. Let’s take a walk.”  
  
—

Connor could see Camden peeking through the cracked door of his bedroom as he sat reading beneath his night lamp. Connor slid his glasses down his nose, contacts long put away, and tilted his head to meet his son’s gaze. “Are you going to come in?”  
  
There was a pause, and then Camden came through the door, stumbling as if he’d tripped. He saw Amanda behind him, and she cast a look at Connor that he couldn’t quite read. He let his gaze drop to his son, though, watching as the boy rounded the other side of the bed and climbed up beside Connor, burying himself beneath the downy white comforter.  
  
“What’s wrong, love?” Connor asked, prodding gently at the Camden-shaped lump in the bed. He didn’t answer, so Connor changed tactics. “Do you want to go to the museum this weekend?”

“I can’t,” Camden’s muffled reply finally came.

Connor raised his brows. “You can’t?”  
  
“I have to go out of town,” the boy said then, quieter. Still hiding beneath layers of soft bedding. “I have to go see Camden.”  
  
Connor chuckled. “Oh really? And where might Camden be?”  
  
“In Napa, with his father, Hank Anderson.”

Connor’s heart stopped in his chest, his lungs seizing and throat tightening. He’d never told Camden his father’s name before, certainly never told him where he lived, because even though Connor had heard rumors that Hank had retired from the DPD and moved out to California, to

run the vineyard his grandfather had left him, he’d never known for sure. He’d never mentioned it to anyone. Not Amanda, not Niles, and especially not Camden. But then, he’d said Camden was there too, hadn’t he? Which meant the impossible.  
  
“Cole?” Connor whispered, pulling back the covers to see his son’s tear-streaked face. He looked like Camden - so very much like Camden - but suddenly Connor knew he’d been wrong. Amanda nodded at him from the doorway and gently closed it, leaving father and son alone.  
  
“Yes,” the boy said, hesitantly meeting Connor’s astonished gaze. “Don’t be angry.”  
  
“I don’t— how did— how are you here?” Connor asked.   
  
“You and Dad sent me and Cam to the same camp,” Cole explained. “We met, and the whole thing sort of... came out. I showed him a picture I had of you and, and he had one of my dad, and— and I just wanted to meet you so bad,” Cole cried, stuttering on a sob as fresh tears welled up. Connor didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around the boy and pull him to his chest. “Please don’t be angry, I just wanted you to like me.”  
  
“Cole,” Connor whispered, stroking his hand gently through blond curls. His own tears were flowing freely now as he cradled his son in his arms for the first time since he was an infant. “Cole, honey, shh, it’s okay.”  
  
“I hope someday you can love me for me, and not because you think I’m Camden,” Cole sniffled.  
  
Connor drew back just far enough to look his son in the eye, brushing his tears away with a gentle thumb. “Cole Henry Anderson, I have loved you your whole life. Since the moment I knew you existed, you were my son, and I have never stopped loving or missing you. Not ever.”  
  
Cole collapsed forward into Connor’s arms, little choked sobs wracking his frame. Connor just held him and tried to make his heart stop pounding.  
  
Finally, Cole sat up, wiped his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m sorry we lied,” he said quietly. “I wanted to meet you, and Cam wanted to meet Dad so we just sort of... switched.”  
  
“I’m not angry,” Connor said. “I’m just... very astonished.”  
  
“Amanda heard me on the phone with Camden,” Cole admitted, glancing toward the now closed door. “I know you have to switch us back.”  
  
Connor nodded slowly, squeezing Cole’s arm in reassurance. “You know your father and I didn’t mean to lie to you, either,” Connor said. “And I love you just as much as I love your brother.”  
  
Cole nodded quickly. “Can I sleep in here with you tonight?”  
  
“Of course,” Connor agreed, letting Cole snuggle close against his side, the aftershocks of his emotional outburst still shaking his slender frame.   
  
“Cole?”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“I love you. Very much.”  
  
Cole’s eyes slipped shut. “I love you too, Papa.”  
  
Connor didn’t stop staring at his son and petting gently through his silky curls until well after Cole fell asleep, trying and failing to think of the least painful way to contact his ex-husband and ask him to switch their sons back.

Eventually, after Cole’s breathing had long since evened out and Connor was certain he was sleeping deeply, he slipped out of bed and down the stairs, wrapping his robe tightly around him. His brother was in the kitchen, only lit by the light above the stove, drinking an aromatic

cup of tea. They didn’t need to exchange words before Niles was pouring a second cup and pressing it into Connor’s hands.  
  
“You were right.”  
  
“That’s quite generous of you, Connor. Surely you understand none of us would have expected the ‘issue’ with Camden to be that it wasn’t actually Camden.”  
  
“I don’t want to send him back,” Connor whispered, staring down into his tea. “I want my sons with me, Niles. Both of them. How can I choose?”  
  
“Surely you know the same arrangement won’t work now that they know they have a twin,” Niles said. “Imagine you and Silas. Or you and I, even.”   
  
“I know,” Connor said. “I know what I have to do.”  
  
“But you’re still afraid.”  
  
“Of course I’m afraid,” Connor snapped. “You would be too.”  
  
Niles stared at Connor from across the dim kitchen with an all-too patient look in his eye.

“You don’t think you can tolerate him well enough to coparent? You don’t need to be best friends, Connor, you just have to be friendly.”

Connor dragged his thumb around the lip of his mug. “It’s business, right? We just have to switch the boys back and... and figure out how we’re supposed to do this now that they know and will want to see each other.”

“By definition, it seems deeply personal,” Niles corrected. “Tell me, Connor. In your experience, is Hank an unkind man?”  
  
Connor furrowed his brow. “No.”  
  
“Is he particularly bad at understanding how to work alongside people he disagrees with?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Do you believe he would ever press you into an uncomfortable situation simply because he felt like being difficult?”  
  
Connor’s shoulders sagged forward. “No.”  
  
“Stop making this some mountain of an issue, Connor,” Niles said firmly. “You’ve made it clear you don’t find his existence intolerable, so just try to make peace.”

“Fine,” Connor said. “But only because I love my sons.”  
  
Niles rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t questioning that, but go off I guess.”  
  
Connor flipped his brother off and went back to bed.  
  
—

“Gavin!”  
  
The nanny stopped in his tracks halfway through a doorway, casting around for a glimpse of the kid who was hissing his name like some secret.  
  
“What.”  
  
Camden glances around before stepping closer to Gavin. “I just talked to Cole. He told Papa and they’re flying out tomorrow to meet us at the hotel and switch back.”  
  
Gavin raised his eyebrow. “The hotel your dad and Chloe are touring tomorrow to make wedding accommodations?”  
  
“What other hotel would I be talking about?”  
  
Gavin smirked. “You’re a fuckin’ little agent of chaos, aintcha, kid?”

“What does that /mean/.”  
  
“Means most kids wouldn’t actively try to sabotage a wedding planning trip by springing the goddamn switcheroo they pulled with the twin brother they aren’t supposed to know about and also an ex husband on their dad.”  
  
“Good thing I’m not most kids.” Gavin ruffled his hand throug blond hair. “Also your dad’s not home, you don’t have to whisper.”  
  
“It feels appropriate to whisper,” Camden continued to whisper.  
  
Gavin rolled his eyes. “You and Cole better make your dads strike a hell of a good deal, ‘cuz I’m gonna miss you if you get sent back to London.”  
  
Camden grinned. “I mean, ideally we’re trying to get them back together.”  
  
“Tall order,” Gavin said. “But hey, who am I to tell you you can’t?”  
  
“If they were in love once, they could do it again,” Camden defended.  
  
Gavin held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Hey kid, just ‘cuz I don’t believe in love doesn’t mean you can’t make your dreams come true and get your dads back together.”   
  
“Once Cole and I are done with them, maybe we’ll do something about you,” Camden said, wrinkling his nose into a shit-eating grin. “I heard a rumor you and Uncle Niles used to be pretty close.”  
  
Gavin planted his hands on Camden’s shoulders and steered him out of the kitchen. “Don’t you have someone else’s life to turn upside down? Leave me alone.”  
  
Camden stuck his tongue out at Gavin and ran upstairs

—  
  
Amanda found Niles reclined in the study the next morning and pointed toward the stairs without preamble. “Go tell Connor to stop chain smoking on my balcony.”  
  
Niles raised a brow. “Why don’t you tell him?”

“Because none of you boys have ever listened to a word I say,” Amanda said, but there was an amused tone to the words.  
  
“By that logic, I shan’t be going upstairs then,” Niles replied, turning a page in his novel.  
  
Amanda shook her head and left the room. It was only a moment later that Niles stood and made for the stairs, catching sight of Amanda watching knowingly from the kitchen.  
  
Upstairs, Niles made his way to the balcony off the upstairs hallway and watched as his brother frantically waved a cigarette in the air that Niles wasn’t strictly certain was tobacco. It was mildly concerning to see his usually unflappable older brother in such a state. It seemed like a complete 180 from the emotional state he’d been in last night, but Niles knew it was just manifesting differently in the daylight.

“Look at me, Niles, I’m a mess,” Connor mumbled around his cigarette. “I haven’t had an attack of nerves like this since high school.”

“You’re forgetting your junior year of university,” Niles reminded him.

Connor made a face. “Am I that bad?”

“No,” Niles said. “But usually dramatic psychological breakdowns are Silas’ wheelhouse, so it remains unnerving nevertheless.” Niles replied. “Have you even packed yet?”  
  
“No!”  
  
Niles sighed, grasping his brother by the shoulders and leading him inside to his bedroom. He didn’t bother trying to take the cigarette away.

“Cole spoke to Camden,” Niles said. “You’re to meet at the Arkait Hotel. Your flight departs at noon.”  
  
“You’re coming, right?” Connor asked, turning desperate eyes on his brother.  
  
“I don’t-“  
  
“Niles, please. Please I need you to come with me.”

Niles sighed. “I knew you were going to say that.”  
  
“So you’re coming?”  
  
“Yes, Connor.”  
  
Connor sagged in relief. “Thank you.”  
  
“But we need to pack,” Niles said, stepping forward to pluck the smoke from Connor’s hands and take a deep drag. “And personally, if I were seeing my ex-husband for the first time in eleven years, I’d want to show him exactly what he’s missed out on.”  
  
Connor lifted a dubious eyebrow. “How so?”  
  
Niles handed the cigarette back to Connor and stepped into his closet, emerging a moment later with a well-tailored blazer, an ivory henley, and a pair of jeans Connor rarely wore because they erred just on this side of too tight for polite company.  
  
“I refuse to see Hank for the first time in eleven years looking like i’m trying too hard.”  
  
“You won’t /look/ like you’re trying to impress him, but impressed he shall be, assuming he still has eyes and a libido.”  
  
Connor pursed his lips, tilting his head to survey the outfit. “I knew you were lying when you said you didn’t have an eye for fashion.”  
  
“Perhaps I just don’t want to work for my big brother,” Niles said. “Anyway. Put it on. I’ll make sure Cole’s bag is packed and be back in fifteen minutes. The car will be here in thirty.”  
  
“Niles?”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“What would I do without you?”  
  
“Chain-smoke yourself into an early grave, likely,” Niles said crisply. “Fifteen minutes. Please try to have at least part of your travel bag assembled.”  
  
Niles strode out of Connor’s room and into Camden’s. Niles had packed his own bag last night knowing Connor wouldn’t think himself capable of handling it on his own. Despite being the youngest brother, Niles often found himself pressed into the role of the responsible one.   
  
He found Cole seated on Camden’s bed, legs swinging, with a packed bag beside him. “Ready to go then?”  
  
“Is Papa okay?”  
  
“He’s being dramatic, but he’ll be fine.”  
  
“Is he nervous to see Dad?”  
  
Niles took a seat beside Cole. “You know it’s not your fault, right Cole?”  
  
“But he wouldn’t have to do it if Camden and I didn’t switch places,” Cole said, his brow furrowed as he looked up at his uncle with remorse in his expression. “I feel bad.”  
  
“It’s not your fault,” Niles repeated, patting the boy’s leg. “Your papa should have faced his fear a long time ago. If he had, maybe you and Camden wouldn’t have had to resort to secretly switching places just to meet your own parents.”  
  
“Do you think they hate each other?” Cole whispered. “Is that why he’s so scared?”  
  
“No, Cole,” Niles said. “I think your papa is afraid because he doesn’t.”

Niles stood before Cole could ask further questions. “Take your bag downstairs, put your jacket on, and say goodbye to your grandmother. We will be downstairs in a few minutes to join you.”  
  
Cole nodded, moving to action as Niles went to rejoin his mess of a big brother.  
  
—

Hank’s whole goddamn family was acting weird.  
  
Chloe was neck deep in wedding planning, kept telling Hank exactly where thy had to be and when they had to be. They were touring the Arkait Hotel today, to get acquainted with the planners Chloe had hired there and for Hank to cut a check for the event. They were also going to meet Chloe’s parents, and while Hank had never been great at that, he wasn’t terribly worried about making a good impression on them. That wasn’t the problem.   
  
Cole had been acting weird since he came home, engagement announcement aside. He’d slept in Hank’s bed three nights in a row now - something he hadn’t done since he’d started grade school. Hank didn’t mind, of course, he was happy to let his son sleep beside him if he wanted to, but Hank knew Chloe wasn’t a fan. He’d convinced her it was just while he got used to being home from camp, where he’d been in close quarters with other kids.

Plus, Cole wouldn’t go near Sumo these days, at least not of his own volition, but he’d still begged Hank to be allowed to bring him on the day trip. Fine. Bring the dog. It would be funny to see some hoity-toity assholes grovel for Hank’s money while also turning their nose up at his dog.   
  
Gavin was acting weird too, and that made even less sense. If Hank didn’t know any better, he’d think Cole had somehow gotten Gavin wrapped even tighter around his finger. Gavin hadn’t made a single meal this week that was in their usual repertoire of favorites, but when pressed, claimed he’d just felt like it. Cole seemed to like them, though, and Hank had to admit they were pretty good.  
  
Hank almost wished he had grounds to fire Gavin that were more substantial than “he’s annoying”, but, though Hank begrudged to admit, he was Hank’s closest friend who had stepped in voluntarily during a pretty rough period of Hank’s life without asking for the life debt Hank knew he owed him in return, so maybe Hank could find it in him to be just a bit more patient.  
  
They arrived at the hotel quite a sight— an old man, his son, his nanny, and his dog, coming to meet the pressed and elegant Kamskis.  
  
Chloe was unimpressed by Sumo’s presence, though she smiled through it with a forced expression. “Honey, a dog at the Arkait?”  
  
“Cole begged me to bring him,” Hank replied.  
  
“And you just can’t say no to Cole, can you?” Chloe said. It was a question, but not really. Hank didn’t care for the tone.  
  
“Gav, get us checked in, will you?” Hank asked, tossing his friend his friend his wallet.

Gavin gave him a Look, but put his hand on Cole’s shoulder and headed toward the front desk.  
  
“Why don’t you and I head upstairs and see the honeymoon suite?” Chloe asked, her tone turning to silken honey once again as she slid her hand up Hank’s arm. “I hear it is absolutely to

die for.”  
  
Hank nodded, allowing Chloe to tug him toward the elevator and press him against the wall. She was close, kissing a line up his neck that he couldn’t ignore. He smiled, glancing over her shoulder as the elevator bell rang to signal the doors closing.  
  
It was then that Hank saw a sight he had never expected to see again in his lifetime.  
  
Just outside the elevator doors, standing in the lobby of a 5 star hotel in California, was Hank’s ex-husband, Connor, and he was staring at Hank. Or perhaps, more specifically, at Chloe’s back as she trailed lipstick marks up Hank’s neck, Hank’s hands resting on her waist.   
  
Hank, unable to believe what he was seeing, blinked a few times, leaning toward the wall to get a better look as the elevator doors slid closed. Connor lifted a hand and waved at him just as the elevator closed.

“What’s wrong, Hanky?” Chloe asked, confused as to why Hank had leaned away from her touch.  
  
“Huh? Uh, nothin’,” Hank replied, trying to shake off his stunned expression. “What were you saying?”  
  
“I wasn’t saying anything,” Chloe said, and Hank remembered all at once that she’d been kissing him when he’d leaned away for a better look at his ex. Chloe sounded put out, and for good reason.  
  
Hank tried to put it out of his mind and listen to Chloe tell him about the honeymoon suite amenities, but his thoughts refused to be occupied now by anything but soft brown eyes and a curl that, even a decade later, refused to be tamed.  
  
—

Despite his begging, Connor knew his brother’s presence in California would not magically make the entire event less difficult. Connor knew, rationally, that Niles was background moral support at best, and no matter how much he would act as chaperone, there was absolutely nothing

preventing Connor from making a complete fool of himself.  
  
That said, Niles had advised him not to drink on the plane. Strongly.  
  
Connor didn’t know if being tipsy was going to help his plight at all, but it certainly helped to drown out the anxious voice at the back of his head. He managed to refrain from getting too drunk, because after all, he did still have to get through the rest of the day, but pleasantly buzzed, Connor disembarked with Cole’s hand in his, Niles mumbling something about the baggage claim.  
  
By the time their car pulled up in front of the Arkait Hotel, Connor had nearly forgotten the reason for the trip.   
  
Nearly.  
  
“Cole, do you know what time your father said they were arriving?” Connor asked.  
  
“Uh. Two, I think.”  
  
“Great, let’s check in so I can take a nap,” Connor said.  
  
“It’s two-thirty, Connor.”

Connor scoffed. “We left London at 11 this morning.”  
  
“And flew 11 hours to be in California, which is 8 hours behind London time, putting us at 2:30pm.”  
  
Connor put a hand to his temple. “I hate time zones.”  
  
“Lets check in, Papa,” Cole offered, taking his father’s hand as he cast a nervous look at his uncle. “I’m sure they’re waiting for us.”  
  
Connor took a breath, squared his shoulders, and wished the hadn’t had that last drink on the plane. “All right.”  
  
The inside of the hotel was beautiful, Connor noted, as he let Cole lead him up to the front

desk. “Niles, you made a reservation?”  
  
“We’re with Hank Anderson,” Cole piped up, smiling at the woman behind the desk.  
  
“Ah, yes, the Anderson party checked in moment ago,” the woman said, smiling. “He said you’d be along shortly. Let me get your keys.”  
  
Connor vaguely noticed Cole releasing his hand, but didn’t pay much mind as the clerk was returning to hand him the room keys. She gave a short spiel about amenities and room service, which Connor nodded to acknowledge but did not retain, and thanked her before turning to scan the room for Cole and Niles.  
  
He stepped away from the desk, wondering where his family could have possibly disappeared to, when he caught a glimpse of blond hair in the elevator. It wasn’t Cole, but it was enough to draw Connor’s attention anyway, and when he realized what he was looking at, his stomach turned violently and he wondered if he was going to be sick.  
  
In the elevator was a pretty blonde woman - late twenties, maybe, with an impeccable silhouette. He could only see her back, as her face was hidden, but wrapped in her arms was a man Connor would have recognized anywhere. The man he’d come here to see and worried himself stupid over meeting again.  
  
Perfectly content in this woman’s embrace.   
  
He looked at Connor and his face paled like he’d seen a ghost. The recognition was there, but no man who knew he would be seeing his ex-husband today would be that surprised. Connor felt foolish.  
  
While Hank stared at him, aghast, Connor waved.  
  
The elevator doors slid shut.  
  
Connor put his hand down.  
  
His sons had some explaining to do.

“Cole!”  
  
Connor had been informed that his son was on the 17th floor, so as he stormed off the elevator, he didn’t really feel like politely minding other guests residing on this floor.  
  
A door opened on one side of the hallway. And then the one opposite it.

Two identical boys stood in front of Connor, and he’d definitely be weepy about seeing his sons together for the first time later, once he wasn’t boiling with embarrassment over seeing Hank.  
  
Connor stopped short of them, putting a hand to his temple as the room swam slightly.

“I can’t do this right now, boys.”  
  
Another person stepped out of the room on the left, dark brown hair and a familiar face. “Hate to break this up, but maybe we should move this inside.” He ushered the boys across the hall into the room on the right, then paused. “You probably don’t remember me,” he said.  
  
“Of course I do, Gavin,” Connor said. “It’s been a while.”  
  
Gavin shrugged. “I bet you’re saying that a lot these days.”  
  
Connor frowned, but followed Gavin and the boys into the room.  
  
The boys perched on the edge of one of the double beds in the room, while Gavin took a seat in the corner, out of the line of fire.  
  
“One of you, and I’m entirely sure which one at the moment,” Connor began, “Told me that your father knew I was coming today. Let me tell you, the man I saw downstairs looked like he had no idea that he and I were on the same planet, let alone in the same hotel.”  
  
“You saw Dad already?” one of the boys said, wincing.  
  
“Technically,” the other added, “I said ‘they’ knew we were coming. And by ‘they’, I meant Camden and Gavin.”

Connor ran a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth in the limited hotel room space. “Boys, what was your plan here? It’s one thing to switch the way you did and another thing entirely to spring this on your father. Camden, does he even know you’re not Cole?”

Camden shook his head. “Not yet.”  
  
“I don’t know what kind of ideas you two have about me and your father, but I don’t think surprising him like this is going to have... whatever result you were hoping for.nHank Anderson and I have nothing in common. If you were expecting the two of us to get back together with this switch, I’m sorry boys, but it just isn’t going to happen. Besides, he looked... perfectly content with his— leggy, bare-backed, blonde.”  
  
Camden shook his head. “No, Papa, he isn’t. She only wants his money. She’s awful, and you can’t let him marry her.”  
  
Connor barked out a short laugh. “Boys, it’s been 11 years since I’ve last spoken to your father. You can’t possibly think I would have any pull whatsoever over who chooses to marry?”  
  
“He still loves you, Papa.”

Connor flinched.  
  
“Listen guys,” Gavin piped up, and Connor had never been quite so glad for a diversion. He needed a moment to collect himself. “I think you kids meant well, but... grown up stuff is complicated. Let’s just start with telling Hank about the switcheroo, huh?”

“Sorry, Papa,” Cole said quietly.  
  
“Yeah, we’re sorry,” Camden added. “We didn’t mean to make things so complicated.”  
  
Connor nodded curtly. “I’m going downstairs for some coffee. You two should speak to your father.”  
  
“Yeah, we’ll find him,” Camden agreed readily. “Sorry Papa.”

Connor sighed and reached out to hug his son. “I missed you, darling.”  
  
“Missed you too, Papa,” Camden said.   
  
Connor glanced over and reached out an arm to beckon Cole to join them. He did eagerly. “My boys,” Connor said softly, pressing a kiss to one silky blond head and then the other. “God, I can’t believe you’re together. I never thought...”  
  
“Papa?”  
  
Connor sucked in a breath and pasted on a smile. “I’m just happy to see you. Go find your dad, and I’ll come find you in a little while.”  
  
The boys nodded eagerly and Connor headed downstairs. He needed coffee, and a lot of it, if he was going to sort through this disaster.

Connor found the hotel restaurant and ordered two cups of coffee - black, without his usual sugar, because he felt like this was a punishment. A punishment for years of pretending to be a functional adult when all he’d ever been was an anxious boy at best, and a fraud at worst.

A pretty woman in a black dress sat at the table beside Connor’s and ordered a martini. It was a bit early in the day, Connor thought, until he reminded himself that he’d managed to spend an 11 hour flight drinking in an effort to curb his anxiety, and knew he was not allowed to pass any kind of judgement on the woman.  
  
“Another coffee, Mr Stern?” the waiter asked, passing by after taking the blonde woman’s order.  
  
“Please.”  
  
As Connor finished his second cup and waited for the third, he could feel the woman’s eyes on him. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, I just—“ she shifted in her seat, turning toward him. “I heard him call you Mr Stern. You’re not _Connor_ Stern, are you? The designer?”  
  
“Guilty,” Connor admitted, smiling sheepishly.

“Ah!” The woman squealed, moving to Connor’s table immediately. “This must be fate!”  
  
“Sorry?”  
  
“I’m Chloe Kamski,” she said, offering a delicately manicured hand to introduce herself. “I saw one of your gowns online and I’m obsessed. I called your office this morning, but they said that you were out of town!”  
  
“Oh, yes, certainly,” Connor said, not fully prepared to do business with a headache beating at his temples, but also still wanting to be courteous. “If you email the office what you’re looking for, I’ll be sure to reach out. I’m only here for a couple of days. Unexpected family business, you know.”  
  
“Of course!” Chloe exclaimed. “Oh, thank you so much! I’m so glad I ran into you!”  
  
Connor smiled politely as the waiter returned with Chloe’s martini and Connor’s coffee. “Lovely to meet you, Ms. Kamski.”  
  
“Likewise!”

With that, Connor stood, taking his coffee with him and heading outside for some fresh air.

\--  
  
Hank tried to keep his head in the game. He really tried.  
  
Or, he tried to want to try.  
  
He knew Connor was in the hotel somewhere. It couldn't have been anyone else. Sure, he had brothers who looked like carbon-copies, but... it had been Connor. Hank just knew it.

Maybe it was all of Cole's recent, uncharacteristic prodding, but Connor had been on Hank's mind. Seeing him again, it... it couldn't be coincidence. And Hank couldn't just let this opportunity go by without at least trying to speak to him.  
  
Chloe released him from her clutches relatively easily. She was going to meet her parents in the hotel bar for a drink, and said that Hank didn't need to join them. "You can make sure that... Cole is keeping the dog out of trouble," Chloe had said, patting the lapel of Hank's blazer. "Catch up with us later."

Hank had not gone to make sure Cole was keeping Sumo out of trouble. If anything, Sumo would be keeping Cole and Gavin both out of trouble. The moment Chloe departed for the hotel bar, Hank was scouring the lobby for a glimpse of dark brown curls.

There was no sign of him in the public areas of the hotel, but just as Hank was contemplating the feasibility of searching each individual floor of the hotel, he caught a glimpse of pale blue - the same color as the blazer Connor had been wearing earlier.

Eager to follow any lead he could, Hank headed for the pool yard, hoping for a better look. He squinted against the sun, trying to adjust to the sunlight and catch a glimpse of the pale blue that had drawn him out here.   
  
"Dad?"  
  
Hank blinked a few times, catching sight of Cole nearby. "Hey bug. Where's Sumo."  
  
"Oh, uh... Gavin has him!"  
  
Hank nodded, patting Cole's shoulder absently as he continued scanning the pool yard. "Great, bug, sounds great."  
  
"You okay, Dad?"  
  
"Yeah, just uh, I'll find you in a bit, all right?"

"Sure, Dad."  
  
Hank was already wandering away, his gaze locking onto a narrow frame in a tailored blue blazer. Even with his back to him, Hank knew it was Connor and he beelined toward him, dodging children playing and waiters while refusing to take his eyes off the man, not wanting to risk losing sight of him again.  
  
He dimly registered someone called out "sir, look out!" and Cole calling his name, but it was immediately replaced by the sensation of the ground disappearing from under his next step, followed by falling, the sharp sting of water, and a pain in his head. Hank spluttered as he righted himself under water and pushed toward the surface. He swam forward, headed for the nearest ledge he could find, and hauled himself up over the edge and back onto dry ground.  
  
It wasn't a graceful exit, by any means, but Hank had experienced worse in his day than falling into a pool in front of a hundred strangers, so he got to his feet and squeezed at the sides of his jacket to wring some of the water out. When he looked up, Connor was there.

Hank's heart skipped into double time, but he couldn't help but smile. "Hi Con."  
  
"Hello Hank," Connor said. Hank was entirely mesmerized by the furrow between his brows, softened only as he hesitantly smiled back at Hank's greeting. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, I--" Hank cocked his head. "Connor, it's been -- what, ten years?"  
  
"Eleven," Connor amended softly. "And a half."  
  
"I'm-- stunned to see you," Hank said, still searching his face. "But you don't seem as stunned to see me."

"Hank, I--" Connor stopped short, the furrow in his brow returning. "You're bleeding."  
  
Hank scrunched his brow in confusion. "What?"  
  
"Your forehead," Connor said, bringing a hand up to smooth Hank's damp hair away from his brow. "Hang on. Excuse me?" Connor flagged down a passing hotel staff member. "Do you have a first aid kit?"  
  
"Of course," she replied.  
  
"And a towel, please."  
  
She nodded, disappearing toward the nearby pool house.

Connor beckoned Hank to sit down at an empty table and the staff member returned moments later with two fresh towels and a first aid kit. Connor's expression went laser intent as he sorted through the kit and plucked out the items he needed. Hank couldn't help but watch him.

The last ten years had been kind to Connor. There were crows feet gathering at the corners of his doe-brown eyes, smile lines bracketing a mouth that was still full and pink, and just a sprinkle of gray gathering at the temples of his still-thick, still-curly brown hair. But he looked like Connor, and by god, did Hank's chest ache just looking at him -- ten years older, but no less beautiful than the day Hank had first met him.  
  
"Con, I--" Hank cut himself off with a pained hiss as Connor disinfected his wound.  
  
"Sorry," Connor said gently, but didn't back down from his task of cleaning and bandaging Hank's wound. "Should have warned you."  
  
"'S okay," Hank murmured. He went still for a few moments as Connor gently dried the edges of the wound so the bandage would stick. "Connor, what are you doing here? Last I heard, you moved to -- Europe, or something. I thought you were gone."  
  
"I did," Connor said. "Move to Europe. I live in London. I'm here on a family matter."  
  
"A family matter?"  
  
Connor glanced away, but his grip on Hank's chin was strong enough that he couldn't follow the gaze.

"Is everything okay?"  
  
"Let's get you cleaned up, Hank," Connor said firmly, his soft brown eyes laser-focused on Hank's bleeding forehead. He looked away to retrieve a dressing, and then hesitantly met Hank's gaze. "Then I think we should talk."  
  
"You okay, Dad?"

Hank's breath caught in his throat as Cole approached, Sumo's leash in hand. "Cole. Hi."  
  
Cole's gaze slid toward Connor, his pale brows knit together in the middle of his forehead. "Do you need any help, Papa?"  
  
"Cole, you know who this is?" Hank asked, his heart in his throat.

Cole looked back at Hank, an apologetic look on his face. "Actually, I do, and... actually, I'm not Cole."  
  
"Actually I am."  
  
Hank thought he might faint as his other son stepped closer, holding his elbows with his arms wrapped around him, an equally apologetic look on his face. He glanced between his sons - nearly identical in every single way. The one holding Sumo's leash was the one he'd brought with him from the ranch this morning. He'd sent him back into the house to retrieve his jacket before he would allow him to get in the car. Which meant that—

"Camden?" Hank's voice wavered as he studied his son's face. It was the face that had been smiling at him the past week and Hank felt like the world's worst father for not realizing who's it was until now.  
  
Camden nodded, swallowing hard. "Hi Dad."

"They switched places on us, Hank," Connor said, sitting back. Hank wasn't sure if he was finished or just understood that Hank needed a moment, but regardless, Hank seized the opportunity to lurch forward and pull his estranged son into a hug. Camden returned it readily, his arms wrapped tight around Hank's neck.  
  
Hank pulled back, thumb brushing reverently at Camden's cheek. "I should have given you a longer hug when I picked you up from the airport, goose."  
  
"Sorry I lied," Camden said. "I just really wanted to meet you."

"I get it," Hank said, laughing incredulously. He glanced over, seeing Cole standing sheepish at Connor's elbow. "Cole, you've been in London all week?"  
  
Cole nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"C'mere, bug," Hank said, tugging Cole into his arms as well. He caught Connor's eye from between the twins and mouthed a silent "what the fuck?"  
  
Connor shrugged gently, looking so incredibly sad and fond at the same time, and Hank knew he had to be just as emotional about this reunion as Hank was. Even if Connor had found out before Hank.  
  
"What were you two thinking?"

Cole and Camden shared a look. "We were thinking that if we ever wanted a chance to meet our estranged fathers, that we had to take matters into our own hands," Camden said.  
  
"Boys," Hank began, but Connor leaned forward, placing a gentle hand on Hank's arm.

"I think the boys have made their intentions clear," Connor said. "And I think you and I should discuss our arrangement in light of this development."  
  
Hank nodded, blinking rapidly. "Uh, sure. Yeah, sure, of course."  
  
"Let's have dinner, as a family," Cole suggested.

"Yeah, just us," Camden added, with a pointed look at Hank.  
  
Hank glanced toward Connor, and even though they might not have spoken in the past eleven years, Hank knew Connor still understood without a word.  
  
"We can do that, boys," Hank agreed. "We can definitely do that."  
  
\--

Since Camden’s stipulation had been “just them”, later clarified to explicitly mean “no Chloe”, Hank realized he was the unfortunate bastard who had to break it to her. Along with... some other news.  
  
Hank found her just leaving the hotel bar. “Oh Hanky, darling, perfect timing. I was just coming to find you. So I was thinking for dinner this evening, my daddy has a friend at—“  
  
“Sorry Chlo, I have dinner plans,” Hank interrupted as gently as he could. “That’s what I was coming to tell you.”  
  
Chloe blinked. “Oh. Well where are we going?”

“He’s having dinner with us!”  
  
Hank’s eyes slid shut, a wince crossing over his face. Chloe’s eyes slid down and to the left of Hank, where Camden stood. Then much more quickly, her gaze shifted right, to Hank’s other side, where Cole had stepped out. Chloe shrieked, taking an abrupt step back. “Wh-what—“  
  
“Did I ever mention that Cole has a twin?” Hank said, forcing himself to open his eyes and smile uncomfortably at his fiancée.  
  
Chloe shot a look at Hank that could have iced over the beach in July. “No, I believe you neglected to mention that little tidbit,” she grit out.  
  
“I’m the real Cole by the way,” Cole said, taking a step forward. “Camden was pretending to be me while I was pretending to be him!”  
  
“Then where have you been?” Chloe asked, waving a vague hand at Cole.

“With my papa!”  
  
Chloe followed the trail of Cole’s gesture and locked eyes with Connor, who waved sheepishly. “Your papa is Connor Stern?” Chloe asked, turning raised eyebrows back on the twins.  
  
“Camden stays with my ex in London,” Hank explained. “They found out they had a twin at summer camp, so now Connor and I have to sort of... negotiate that.”  
  
Chloe stared blankly at Hank for a long moment. “You’re bailing on dinner with me and my parents to have dinner with your _ex-husband_?”  
  
“Well when you put it like that, it sounds bad.”

“Hank. Just.” Chloe took a breath, visibly composing herself. “Do what you need to do. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
  
“Thanks Chloe, you’re a gem,” Hank said, stepping close to kiss her goodbye. The twins gagged in unison, and Chloe still seemed upset, and Hank didn’t even want to know Connor’s reaction, so he thought better of it and stepped away as quickly as he had come. He cast a final apologetic look at Chloe as he ushered the twins upstairs to the suite.

As they stepped off the elevator, Hank caught sight of Connor’s younger brother, Niles. He glanced over the four of them then locked eyes with Connor. “I see you’ve found them.”  
  
“Yes,” Connor said crisply. “Where have _you_ been?”  
  
“I was letting Amanda know we arrived safely.”

The brothers stared each other down for a moment before Niles rolled his eyes. “Why don’t we sit down.”  
  
A door on the opposite side of the hallway opened and Gavin stepped out. “Hey I thought I heard—“ Gavin locked eyes with Niles and froze. “Niles. Hi.”

“Gavin,” Niles replied, as warmly as Hank had ever heard the man say anything. “What a surprise.”  
  
Hank glanced down to see Cam whispering into Cole’s ear, Cole’s shoulders shaking on a giggle. “Boys,” Hank said quietly but sternly. They both jolted to attention. “We’ll have dinner this evening, but for now, please take Sumo and go to your room. I need a moment.”  
  
“Are we in trouble?” Camden asked.  
  
“I haven’t decided,” Hank said, just as Connor said, “Of course not, love.”

Hank shot a questioning look at Connor.  
  
“Hank, are we doing this now?”

“Nope,” Hank said, popping his lips. “I need an hour. I’m going to get out of these wet clothes and have a moment of peace, and you and I will discuss this later.”  
  
Connor hesitated, but then nodded and headed for the room Niles had come out of. Hank headed one of the rooms opposite, brushing past Gavin and closing the door behind him.  
  
In the hallway, Niles, Gavin, the boys, and Sumo stood in an uncomfortable silent for a moment. “So you told them?” Gavin asked finally.  
  
“I mean, they definitely know,” Cole said, shrugging.  
  
“And?”

“And now it’s time for phase two,” Camden said. “We’re gonna get them alone and remind them why they liked each other in the first place.”  
  
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” Niles asked.  
  
“By recreating their first date,” Cole said.  
  
“We’ll need your help,” Camden added.

Gavin and Niles exchanged a look, each trying to decide just how far they would bend backwards for these audacious eleven year olds.   
  
“Fuck it,” Gavin said. “What’d’ya got in mind?”  
  
—

Connor appreciated that he was given a few moments alone after the entire fiasco downstairs. He wound up falling asleep for about an hour and a half, waking up when Niles stepped into the room and feeling quite a bit clearer in the head than he had earlier.

"Did you enjoy your nap, Connor?" Niles asked politely, rummaging through luggage and methodically setting them out.  
  
"I did, thank you," Connor said, tucking his elbow up under his head as he watched Niles. "What are you doing?"  
  
"The boys have selected a venue for dinner, and you must be dressed appropriately."  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"I've been sworn to secrecy," Niles said, glancing toward Connor. "However, they believe you will enjoy it."  
  
"I slept in the nice outfit you made me bring.".  
  
"You should know better than to think I only packed you one nice outfit, Connor."  
  
Connor shook his head, scratching his nose against his sleeve. "Silly me."  
  
"One of us had to approach this with a level head."  
  
"Mhm, sure."  
  
"Are you going to fall back asleep, Connor?"  
  
"Tempted."

"Dinner is in an hour and a half, so I would advise against it."  
  
"Yes, Mother."  
  
Niles sighed heavily and dropped a pile of clothing on Connor's head. "Shower. Shave. Dress. Don't forget to brush your teeth. The car will be here in an hour for all of you."

"You get the night off, then?"  
  
"This is practically vacation for me. Perhaps I'll finally finish that novel you gave me for Christmas."  
  
Connor huffed softly. "Glad you're enjoying yourself."  
  
"Please go shower," Niles said, then left the room with his own neatly folded clothes.

Connor took his time getting up, but did eventually obey his brother's orders and headed for the en suite bathroom. He shaved carefully, showered leisurely, blow-dried his hair, and styled it neatly. When he exited the bathroom, Camden was there, buttoning himself into a crisp, yellow shirt that Niles had left out for him. He smiled when he saw Connor. "Hi Papa."  
  
"Hi love," Connor said, stroking a fond hand through Camden's hair as he passed behind him, looking for the shirt Niles had left him. "Niles said you and Cole did all the planning."

Camden nodded, smoothing his shirt down his belly. "Yep!"  
  
"I'm excited to see what you picked," Connor said, shrugging into his shirt.  
  
"Is that the outfit Uncle Niles picked for you?" Camden asked.  
  
"Why, don't you trust me to dress myself?"  
  
Camden smiled smugly. "No."

Connor huffed in mock offense, a hand pressed to his throat. "Camden!"  
  
"Come on, get dressed Papa, Cole and Dad will be waiting," Camden pressed, ignoring Connor's indignation.  
  
"Fine, fine," Connor said, tucking his shirt into his pants and reaching for his suit jacket.

Camden hurried him out the door and down to the main floor, where they found Hank and Cole waiting in the lobby. Cole was dressed nearly the same as Camden, in khaki pants and a green shirt instead of yellow. Connor complimented him sincerely, though his gaze kept trailing toward

Hank instead, seemingly without Connor's knowledge.  
  
Hank cut a striking figure in a pale gray suit, accented with a pale purple shirt, unbuttoned just far enough to reveal a hint of chest hair. Hank's hair was tied back in a low ponytail, showing off his jawline nicely. Connor tried not to stare. It was inappropriate. Hank wasn't his husband anymore. But the attraction had never faded, and Connor had never claimed otherwise.  
  
Connor's cheeks heated when he realized Hank was staring right back.  
  
The ride to their dinner venue was a pleasant one, the boys chatting about their summer mostly, while Hank and Connor listened. The car slowed to a stop in front of a long dock off the beach.  
  
"Boys, where _are _ we?" Connor asked as they stepped out.  
  
"This is where we're having dinner?" Hank asked, looking around.

"No, _that’s_ where we're having dinner," Cole said, pointing toward the yacht anchored at the end of the dock.  
  
"Boys," Connor began incredulously. "How?"  
  
"We had a little help," Camden said.  
  
"A _little_?" Hank asked pointedly.

"A lot," Cole amended. "Amanda may have pitched a bit."  
  
"Mhm," Connor hummed, unconvinced. He was starting to understand why the boys had sworn Niles to secrecy.  
  
"Come on, come see," Cole said, tugging at Connor's hand. Camden grabbed Hank's and pulled him along behind. They stepped onto the boat and into a small, candlelit dining room, revealing a glaring discrepancy in the twins’ story.

"Cole. The table is only set for two."  
  
"Oh, that's the second surprise," Cole said. "We aren't joining you."  
  
"I thought this was supposed to be a family dinner," Hank said, eyebrows raised at Camden.

"We figured you two needed some time to... talk," Camden replied.  
  
Connor pursed his lips. "And you decided this was the best place."  
  
"Just enjoy it," Cole said, smiling shyly. "Sail back in time. Back to yesteryear."  
  
Connor huffed out a soft laugh, shaking his head.

"You two are something else," Hank said, his voice warm with amusement.  
  
"Is there even anyone on this boat?" Connor asked, looking around.  
  
"There is," Gavin's voice rang out, loud and clear as he pushed his way through the galley doors, flanked closely by Niles. They were both dressed in crisp black and white, Niles with a bottle of wine in hand and Gavin with two salads.  
  
"Sworn to secrecy, hm?"  
  
Niles tipped his head. "At least you can't fire us, because we aren't being paid."

"Take a seat," Gavin said. "These kids put a lot of effort into giving you a nice night."  
  
"When in Rome, right Con?" Hank asked, pulling out a seat for Connor. The boys had already slunk away while Connor was distracted.

“You know what they’re doing right?” Niles asked softly. “The boat, the dinner—“  
  
“The help,” Gavin added, smirking as he poured Hank and Connor each a glass of wine.  
  
“They’re recreating the night we met,” Hank affirmed, his voice quiet and rough. Connor swallowed hard.

“We’ll be back with the next course in a few minutes,” Niles said quietly. He and Gavin disappeared through the galley doors.  
  
Now that they were alone, Connor felt more self-conscious about his gaze sliding toward Hank. Hank, however, shared no such qualms, it seemed. Connor felt like he was burning under Hank’s piercing blue gaze. He felt it on his skin like a physical presence and wondered if it had always been so intense.   
  
“What happened, Con?”  
  
Connor twisted his hands in his lap. “What do you mean?”  
  
“How’d we go from this--“ Hank gestured toward the boat decor, the hand-painted lifesaver bearing the name of the ship they’d met on - the Jericho - “--to this?” Hank finished, gesturing between them. “Where’d we go wrong?”   
  
Connor couldn’t _stop_ looking at Hank even though he felt as if he might crumble under the weight of everything unsaid between them.   
  
“We were young and we both had stubborn tempers and... and we said things,” Connor said, quiet but earnest and unbearably sad. “Things neither of us knew if we really meant, but... we said them anyway. And I left, and you didn’t come after me.”  
  
Hank looked stunned. “I didn’t know you wanted me to.”  
  
All the pain Connor had ever experienced over Hank - over loving him and leaving him - surged through his chest at once. He knew there had to be tears in his eyes but he ignored them.

“Well it doesn’t matter now,” Connor said, even as he knew it did. How could Hank have not known Connor wanted to be followed? How could Hank have thought there was even an ounce of Connor that would have rejected him if he had?

Maybe it just solidified the fact that the two of them had never been on the same page.   
  
“We need to talk about our sons, Hank,” Connor said instead. He straightened his shoulders, leaning forward. “We can’t very well separate the two of them now that they know the other exists. They had the whole summer together. They’re already far too attached.”  
  
“So you take them both for half the year, and I’ll take them the other half,” Hank suggested.  
  
“They can’t go to two different schools every year, that’s nuts,” Gavin chimes in. Connor startled at his voice and swallowed hard. He hadn’t noticed Gavin come back in. He’d forgotten they still had an audience.  
  
“Then you take them both for a whole year, and then I’ll take them for a year,” Connor suggested.  
  
“An awful idea,” Niles contributed then. “They’ll feel like social pariahs.”

“I think this is for Hank and I to discuss, thank you, Niles,” Connor said, staring at his brother with a desperate look through which he tried to convey “Please take Gavin and fuck the hell off”. It must have gotten through, because Niles simply placed a hand on Gavin’s shoulder and ushered him through the galley doors.  
  
Hank sank back in his chair with a frustrated sigh. “This is the exact reason we came up with the arrangement that we did.”  
  
“Was it?” Connor asked softly. “I thought it was because we never wanted to see each other again.”

“Not ‘we’, Con,” Hank said, his voice steady.  
  
Connor averted his gaze. “Well, that part’s a bit hazy, too.”  
  
“You don’t remember the day you packed?” Hank asked.  
  
Connor drew a breath. “I remember.”  
  
“What was it you threw at me?”  
  
“A hair dryer,” Connor said. Hank laughed, and the sound curled the corners of Connor’s lips upward without his permission. “Right. Left a nasty bruise.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Connor said, and he meant it for more than just the airborne appliance. He didn’t know how to fully apologize to Hank for everything he’d said and done during their break-up. He wished there were words that adequately expressed how much Connor regretted how it had ended.   
  
“Me too,” Hank said, and Connor thought maybe - just maybe - Hank understood.

“Listen, maybe...” Hank began, hesitant. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be so— black and white.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“We could just... coparent,” Hank said.  
  
“I live in London, Hank.”  
  
“But we can still...”

“And the first time we disagree on how to raise the boys, then what?” Connor asked when Hank failed to finish his sentence. “I mail a hair dryer across the pond?”   
  
Hank looked pained. “No. No, I suppose you’re right.”  
  
“You have Chloe to think about too,” Connor said. “She didn’t seem too fond of the idea of your ex coming back into your life.”  
  
Hank frowned. “She’ll understand if it’s for Cole’s well-being.”  
  
“Will she?”  
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
  
“I’m not passing judgement on your fiancée, Hank, I’m only asking how involved she’ll be. And how involved she’ll let me be.”

“You’ll both be involved.”  
  
Connor circled a finger around the rim of his wine glass. “So we’re back to where we started.”  
  
“Cam with you and Cole with me,” Hank confirmed.  
  
“We can take turns at holidays,” Connor continued. “Camden can come to Napa for Thanksgiving and Cole can fly out to London for Christmas.”  
  
“So I sacrifice Christmas with both my sons?”  
  
“Hank, what would you have us do?” Connor asked, more of a plea than anything. “It’s something we have to compromise on.”  
  
Hank sighed heavily. “Connor.”  
  
“What? What answers to you have that I don’t? What magical solution to this problem is there?”  
  
“I don’t know, okay? I don’t have an answer but that doesn’t mean I have to like this one!”  
  
Connor scoffed, rolling his eyes as he sat back in his chair. “Of course.”  
  
“I don’t appreciate your tone, Con.”  
  
“Don’t call me that if you’re just going to use it condescendingly,” Connor snapped in return. “Don’t say it like you know me. You don’t know me, Hank.”  
  
“And who’s fucking fault is that, Connor?”  
  
Connor lifted his chin sharply. “I left and it’s my fault, is that what you wanted to hear?”

“No, I want to hear /why/,” Hank spat. “Why you left and took Camden and pretended it was some kind of mutual decision. Eleven goddamn years and you never told me why.”  
  
“Don’t pretend my leaving was unexpected when you checked out of our marriage months before I left.”

“It broke me, Connor!” Hank snapped. “I loved you more than I have ever loved anyone or anything in my goddamn life, and you threw that away like it was garbage and didn’t explain why it wasn’t enough for you anymore.”

Connor’s chest heaved with barely restrained emotion. He looked toward the window, displaying the lit boardwalk in the distance. His spine was straight, shoulders squared, because if he could control himself, he could control _something_. “Camden and I fly back to London

tomorrow. We’ll negotiate holidays once we’ve put a little distance between our emotions.”  
  
“So you’re still not going to tell me? For fuck’s sake, Con—“  
  
“Why don’t you tell _me_, Hank?” Connor shouted, his head whipping back toward Hank. “Tell me why you stopped looking at me the same way. Tell me why you stopped touching me. Tell me how, if you were still so in love with me, why your own husband so repulsed you? Tell me why we spent the first three months of the twins’ life in a constant screaming match because we couldn’t agree on one fucking thing, Hank!”

Connor scoffed, shaking his head as his gaze trailed away from Hank again. “They left us alone for five minutes and we fell right back into it. That’s why I left. Why we came to the decision we did. Because I refused to let my sons be raised in that kind of environment. Even if it meant making the worst sacrifice I’ve ever had to make.”  
  
“Connor, that’s—“  
  
“Maybe it was selfish,” Connor interrupted, as if Hank hadn’t spoken a word. “Maybe we could have done something about it, but Hank, I was young and I was hurting and I just wanted to be loved, and I thought if I made you hate me instead, at least I’d understand why you couldn’t look me in the eye anymore.”  
  
Connor stood, and Hank followed a moment later, like he wanted to stop him. Connor drew himself to his full height and looked Hank in the eye. “Our flight leaves at noon. I’ll be sure Camden is ready in plenty of time to say goodbye.”  
  
“Connor—“  
  
“Good night, Hank.”  
  
Connor didn’t look back at Hank as he left the dining room, because he didn’t want Hank to see him cry.  
  
—

Niles sighed, turning from where he’d been listening just around the corner from the dining room. “That went poorly.”  
  
“Kids’ll be devastated,” Gavin said, popping a grape into his mouth. “Though I did try to warn them.”  
  
Niles looked to Gavin, standing on the opposite end of the small galley they’d occupied the past few hours, confined to close quarters in an effort to help Cole and Camden’s plan go as well as possible. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that Hank and Connor had let their issues fester for a decade and opted for lawyers rather than counseling. Still, Gavin was correct, on the part of the children being upset.   
  
“I think they still have a shot,” Niles offered.  
  
Gavin scoffed. “Yeah, did we hear the same argument just now, Nini?”  
  
“Don’t call me that.”   
  
Niles received an eye roll for his troubles.

“I don’t see what the point of trying to push them back together is,” Gavin said. “They had their thing, they fell out, got divorced. It happens all the time, to way more functional people than Hank and Connor.”  
  
“Are you asking my opinion?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Children want to believe in the concept of true love,” Niles said.  
  
“Awesome. You’re like thirty.”  
  
“I’m referring to Cole and Camden, please pay attention.”  
  
Gavin sighed in exasperation, hauling himself up to sit on the counter, since it sounded like they wouldn’t be needed to serve dinner any time soon.

“Children’s fairy tales dictate that true love is the strongest of emotions. That it is something not only attainable, but worthwhile enough to withstand many trials and pitfalls over its course. True love won’t be swayed by any external force.”  
  
“Cole and Cam are old enough to understand that fairytales aren’t real, Ni,” Gavin said, leaning back against a hanging cabinet.  
  
“But they understand that the concepts in them are universal. Dragons may not wander our lands, but courage and perseverance and determination are real enough. Why not love?”

“‘Cuz it goes sour, like their dads,” Gavin said, waving a hand. “If true love was real, why’d Hank and Connor split up, huh? Hank had it worse for that asshole than anybody I’ve ever seen. It was like a fuckin’ romcom, listening to him talk. But it went away. You heard Connor.”

“Connor has the uncanny ability to say the exact opposite of what he means when he feels cornered,” Niles said. “He told me once that it wasn’t Hank’s fault. That he didn’t blame Hank for their breakup. Which leads me to believe that, despite his accusations just now, there’s

something deeper at play.”  
  
“Like what?”  
  
“That much he has refused to elaborate.”  
  
Gavin briefly flicked his eyebrows upwards, unimpressed. “Doesn’t give any of us much to go on.”  
  
“I think they would work it out given more time,” Niles said.   
  
“What’s the point of being in love or whatever if they can’t even get along?” Gavin asked. “Sounds like a lot of trouble for minimum reward, if you ask me.”  
  
“I didn’t,” Niles said, shifting to face Gavin head on. “And I think their inability to ‘get along’, as you say, is only the two of them reflecting the animosity they believe the other holds for them in an effort to protect themselves from being hurt all over again.”  
  
Gavin squinted at Niles. “What.”  
  
“Have you ever been in love, Gavin?”  
  
“No,” Gavin said, a little too sharply.  
  
“Hm. Well, I’m told it’s worthwhile. Moves mountains and all that.”  
  
“It’s bullshit invented by greeting card companies to make money.”  
  
“That would be Valentine’s Day, which is the marketable aspect of love, but not the concept itself.”  
  
“What’s the difference?”  
  
“I believe Hank and Connor would come around in time. Unfortunately, we have little at the moment. Once Connor returns to London, he will be hard pressed to agree to return to see Hank. And I doubt the boys could pull as effective a switch a second time.”

Gavin jumped off the counter and turned, facing Niles. “Guess we should break the news,” he said, trying to slide past Niles. The gap between the counters was too small to fit both of them, even as Niles turned, trying to accommodate Gavin’s passage.

Their chests pressed together, the squeeze tight. Niles could feel the way Gavin’s breath hitched in his chest.   
  
“Yes,” Niles agreed, his voice faint. “You can tell them that fairytales are bullshit.”  
  
“And you can— say that shit about love overcoming whatever,” Gavin said, no longer making a visible effort to slip past Niles. “Something real convincing.”  
  
“Certainly.”  
  
“Hey Ni?”  
  
“Yes?”   
  
“Do you, uh... do you swing both ways?”  
  
“Moment absolutely ruined,” Niles said, immediately peeling away from Gavin toward the door.

“At least answer the question!”  
  
“No, Gavin, just the one way.”  
  
“....which one?”  
  
“Moment doubly ruined.”  
  
“Fuck you!”  
  
“You wish.”  
  
—

Connor returned to the hotel and holed up in his room. He wasn’t certain how long he had before the others would return, so he used the only distraction he could think of.  
  
He called his brother.

Silas lived in Chicago, not as far from where they’d grown up in the suburbs of Detroit as Niles and Connor had wound up. He and Connor were close – not as much these days as Connor and Niles, but still close. Connor had always shared a certain bond with Silas.

Connor had always felt that they understood each other just a little bit better than anyone else. Silas didn’t ask questions, he just knew. And right now, Connor couldn’t handle the idea of anyone asking questions.

Silas did exactly as Connor had hoped, and he spent two hours regaling Connor with a story about a party he’d gone to last weekend. Connor happily listened, and the phone at his ear staved off Niles and the boys when they came looking for him.

“Con, this has been great, but I’ve got to go,” Silas said eventually. “Unless you need something else.”  
  
“No,” Connor said quietly. “No. Thank you.”  
  
“Send me a souvenir from California,” Silas said.  
  
“You spoke to Mother?” Connor surmised.

“She’s lonely without anyone in the house. Go home soon, I can’t stand being the center of her attention.”  
  
“Thank you for not asking.”  
  
“Still willing to listen if you want to talk.”  
  
Connor took a deep breath. Exhaled it slowly. “I know. Thank you, Si.”

“Have a good night Connor.”  
  
“Good night.”  
  
Once Connor was off the phone, he rose from his seat and headed for the adjacent room. He had heard Hank’s baritone echoing through the walls about half an hour ago, wishing the boys good night. If the boys weren’t already asleep, he should do the same.  
  
Connor peeked through the doorway of the hotel room, watching his sons curled together on one of the double beds, their knees and foreheads pressed together. At first glance, he thought they were asleep, but as he moved to leave quietly, he heard Cole whisper just loud enough to be heard. “Do you think they really hate each other?”  
  
“No,” Camden whispered back. “Dad misses him. I know he does.”  
  
“I think Papa misses Dad too,” Cole said. “He sounded really sad when I asked why they split up. But they still fought.”

“I’m pretty sure they don’t think they deserve nice things,” Camden said.  
  
“I wish you didn’t have to go,” Cole said, wrapping an arm around his brother. “I wish we could all stay together.”  
  
Connor slipped away before he could hear anything further.  
  
—

The next morning, Hank stood in the lobby of the hotel with Gavin lingering nearby. He’d checked them out of their rooms and was waiting for the rest to come down so he could say goodbye to Camden.   
  
And Connor.

Last night more than ever, Hank wished he had a time machine. He didn’t have the words to apologize for something that had happened so long ago – something he wasn’t certain he even remembered entirely correctly – but he wished he did. Even if it wouldn’t make Connor love him again or undo their past, he wanted to let Connor know he’d never meant to hurt him so.  
  
But Hank knew the best way to make sure he didn’t keep hurting Connor was to let him go.

Again.  
  
The elevator chimed, revealing Connor and Niles. Connor hesitated as he locked eyes with Hank, but still moved to join him and Gavin in their corner of the lobby.  
  
“The boys said they would be down in a moment,” Niles offered, and Hank figured he was just trying to break the uncomfortable silence.  
  
“Flight’s at noon?” Hank asked conversationally.

“Yes.”  
  
Hank nodded awkwardly.  
  
“I’ll bring the car up, I guess,” Gavin said, and god, Hank wished he could skip this part, too.  
  
Fortunately, only moments after Gavin departed, the elevator chimed again and the twins stepped off the elevator dressed identically.

God, Hank felt like a garbage dad when he couldn’t tell the two of them apart.  
  
“We’ve come to a decision,” one of them said before Hank or Connor had a chance.  
  
“And what decision might that be?” Connor asked. Hank stole a glance at him, wondering if he could tell them apart.

“We’re getting ripped off.”  
  
Hank’s eyebrows rose.  
  
“We were talking, and we don’t think it’s fair that we have to be separated again so soon.”  
  
“Mhm,” Connor said, his jaw set in a hard line. “And what do you propose?”  
  
“We want to go on the camping trip. Together.”

“What camping trip?” Connor asked, looking toward Hank for answers.  
  
“The one we take every year before school starts. We’re supposed to go this weekend.”  
  
“We want to go. All four of us.”  
  
“Boys, your Papa’s gonna miss his flight if you don’t cut this out,” Hank said.

“That’s kind of the point, Dad.”  
  
“Camden!” Connor said sharply.   
  
Both twins looked at him without missing a beat. Eerily in synch. “Yes, Papa?” they said in unison, like the twins from the fuckin' shining.

Connor looked mildly frustrated when it didn’t trip them up, and it made Hank feel slightly less guilty to know he couldn’t tell them apart either.   
  
Hank bent down to look them in the eyes, one elbow resting on his knee. He stared at one, and then the other, then pointed back at the first. “That’s Cole. I’m positive.”  
  
“But it’s kind of hard to be 100 percent sure,” the accused “Cole” said in the faint British accent Camden usually spoke in. “Isn’t it?”  
  
Shit.

Hank’s uncertainty must have shown on his face, because they both smiled like the cat who got the cream. “We just want to go on one family camping trip. And when we come back, we’ll tell you who’s Cole, and who’s Camden.”  
  
“Or I take one of you back to London with me whether you like it or not,” Connor said.  
  
“Is that a risk you really want to take, Papa?”  
  
Connor looked at Hank, mild panic in his expression. Hank was not about to agree to anything that would force Connor to stay if he really wanted to go.

Connor seemed to realize this, bringing his hand to his mouth, worrying at his thumb with his teeth.  
  
“Fine,” Connor said after a moment, straightening into the perfect posture he maintained when he felt control slipping from his grasp. “We’ll play your game. But then there will be no more complaints or stalling, and Camden will leave with Niles and I for London first thing on Monday.”  
  
The boys looked ecstatic. Connor looked like he’d swallowed a tack.  
  
Hank just hoped this weekend could be an opportunity to foster a bit of civility between them.  
  
\--

“You’re going /where/?”  
  
“Camping,” Hank replied, hoisting another tent into the back of his truck.  
  
“Why?!”  
  
“We’re kind of caught between a rock and a hard place, Chlo,” Hank said quietly. “The boys said they’ll go peacefully if they get to go camping with me and Connor.”

“Connor is going?” Chloe asked, casting a disbelieving look at Hank.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“If he’s going then I’m definitely going,” Chloe said, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
“That’s not necessary—”  
  
Chloe looked at him like he was being difficult. “Your ex in the next sleeping bag, Hanky? I’m going.”  
  
“That’s not part of the deal!” one of the twins cried. Hank pinned him with a sharp, reprimanding look.  
  
“Of course you should go,” Connor said instead, stepping closer. He smiled kindly at Chloe. “It will be a great opportunity to bond with the boys.”

Chloe’s eyes widened, but then she found a smile equally as fake and equally as bright as the one Connor was giving her. “Sure.”  
  
“Go pack a bag, we gotta leave in ten if we’re gonna make it to the site and set up camp before dark,” Hank said.  
  
“I’ll help,” Connor said, following Chloe toward the house.  
  
Hank watched them go, only resuming packing the truck once they’d disappeared inside.  
  
“Chloe’s the worst, Dad.”  
  
“You barely know her.”  
  
“YOU barely know her.”  
  
“Be nice,” Hank warned. “You know your Papa didn’t have to agree to any of this, and you’re going to accept what you get.”  
  
The twins sighed, exchanging a look, before climbing into the back seat.  
  
Connor and Chloe returned shortly. Connor placed Chloe’s bag in the trunk while she slid into the passenger seat of the truck. Then Connor stepped back, brushing off his hands before planting them on his hips. “Well. Have fun everyone.”  
  
“Connor?” Hank asked, sliding his sunglasses down to look at his ex.  
  
“Papa, you’re not coming?”  
  
“There’s only four seats in the truck, sweetheart,” Connor said.

“Then Chloe can’t come!”  
  
“Boys,” Connor said, his tone gently scolding. “You need to get to know her.”  
  
“If you’re not going then I definitely do not need to go,” Chloe said, looking just a bit like a wild animal caught in a trap.  
  
“Don’t be silly, it’s your last chance to get to know the boys before the wedding,” Connor said. “After all, starting soon, they’re half yours.”  
  
Hank blinked, a bit surprised that Connor had pulled this out of his hat so quickly, but then again – he wasn’t really that surprised at all. Connor – for all that Hank had adored him when they were married – was eerily good at convincing people to do what he wanted.  
  
“I’ll be here when you all get back,” Connor continued, smiling warmly. “I’ll ring my office and make sure Chloe’s wedding dress gets expedited so it arrives in time for last minute alterations.”  
  
“This isn’t the deal we made!”  
  
“Boys,” Hank said gruffly. “I told you. Your papa didn’t have to agree to let Camden come on the camping trip, so you can either come camping with me and Chloe, or you can say your goodbyes now and your papa flies home tonight.”  
  
“But—"  
  
“Be good for your dad and Chloe, boys,” Connor said, his tone firm enough to brook no argument. The boys slumped down in the backseat, looking sour.

“You sure, Con?” Hank asked one more time.  
  
Connor nodded. “Have fun.”

Hank put the truck in gear and pulled out of the driveway, glancing in his rearview to see the back of the boys’ heads as they stared out the rear window, and Connor standing on the porch, waving until they disappeared from sight.

\--  
  
The drive to the campsite was relatively short, and the hike to their campsite was about 45 minutes on top of that. The boys were eager, despite their well-stated disappointment over Connor’s absence, and easily took the lead. Chloe was relatively steady on her feet but went slowly. Hank offered her assistance when she seemed to need it, but thought it better not to coddle her too much.  
  
“Hey, hold up,” Hank said at one point, when Chloe seemed to be struggling as she tried to climb over a log lying across the path without touching it.

“We’re taking a break for a second.”  
  
“But we’re almost there!”  
  
“Chloe’s not as tough as you are, bug,” Hank said. “We’re just taking a quick break.”  
  
The boys rolled their eyes, but plunked themselves down on a nearby log. Chloe took a seat on a flat boulder and unscrewed the cap on her water bottle, taking a long drink.   
  
“Dad! Look at the lizards!” Camden squealed gleefully as Cole tried to scoop up one of the tiny creatures nesting beneath their log. Telling them apart was starting to get easier – even though they hadn’t revealed who was who since the hotel, their personalities shone through a bit more as they relaxed into their vacation. Hank was starting to get the feel for who was who, even if they looked the same.  
  
“Ah, look at those little guys,” Hank said, approaching the boys and allowing them to show him

their treasures. “Make sure not to disturb their nest, boys.”  
  
“Okay, Dad. Oh look, there’s more over here!”  
  
“Do you want to see, Chloe?” Camden asked, holding one of the tiny geckos toward her.  
  
Chloe flinched back. “Keep that thing away from me.”

“It won’t hurt you, Chloe,” Hank assured her.  
  
“I don’t like… creepy crawlies,” Chloe said, looking down her nose at Camden as he stroked a tender finger across the back of the creature in his hand.  
  
“All right, put it back, goose, time to get moving.”  
  
“Sure Dad.”

Hank headed down the path in the lead this time. He only made it a few yards before he heard Chloe screaming and hurried back to where he’d left her. “What happened?”  
  
“There was a lizard on her water bottle,” Camden said innocently, holding the culprit aloft.

“Uh-huh,” Hank said, casting an unconvinced look at the boys. “You okay, Chlo?”  
  
Chloe shook her head, though she might have been shaking her hair out of her face. “I hate the outdoors.”  
  
“Let’s keep going,” Hank said, offering his arm to Chloe. “We’re almost there.”

Chloe whined, but took Hank’s arm anyway.  
  
As Hank helped Chloe the rest of the way to the campsite, listening to the boys chatting ahead of them, pointing out flora and fauna as they went. He was trying to understand their animosity toward Chloe, and how serious it really was.

The bulk of it seemed to come from Camden. Cole seemed to at least be trying to be polite to Chloe, but always sided with Camden when the opportunity arose.   
  
Having raised Cole himself, Hank knew he was a sweet boy – didn’t have a cruel bone in his body, but he had just a hint of that strong will that Connor had always had. He knew how to get his way when he really wanted. He usually didn’t put his foot down, though – would rather let someone else have their way. That slight pushover tendency that Hank had always been accused of. If Camden hadn’t been a factor in all of this, Cole would have let Hank marry Chloe. He wouldn’t have even thought to put up a fight about it.  
  
Camden, though. Camden had decided off the bat that he didn’t like Chloe. Hank assumed at first it was because she was a stranger, but after realizing it was Camden and not Cole, Hank also realized that /he/ had been a stranger to his son, and Camden had still shown Hank nothing but affection. Hank wondered why he’d been given the benefit of the doubt and Chloe hadn’t. He wondered how much Connor had really told Camden about him.

Camden had the tenacity to get what he wanted. Connor had raised him well – polite and caring, but strong-willed, and definitely not one to bend to someone else’s whim. He had the same fire in him that Hank used to have himself. Really, the longer Hank spent with Camden the more he knew he should have known from the start that he wasn’t Cole.  
  
Cole and Chloe would get along just fine once Camden returned to London with Connor, and Hank was sure they would be good for each other. Camden would visit on occasion, and maybe he’d get used to Chloe’s presence. After all, if he only saw her a few times a year, it wouldn’t be too much of an ordeal, right?

But Camden was just as much Hank's son as Cole. Should Hank really assume that because Camden would only visit on special occasions and holidays that Chloe wouldn’t be a substantial enough part of his life to affect it? Shouldn't Hank take Camden's happiness into account, too?

Hank knew he should probably discuss these things with Connor, but… he didn’t know how to talk to Connor anymore. Not after the fight they’d had on the boat.  
  
Not after the twins were born, honestly.

Connor’s accusations at dinner had stung, but Hank knew they weren’t unfounded. Of course they weren’t. He hadn’t thought about what it would look like from Connor’s side of things, but the moment the words were out there, hanging in the air between them like daggers, Hank knew.

There was a fine line between explanations and excuses, and Hank didn’t quite know how to tread that line with Connor while the two of them were still on eggshells. He wanted a chance to explain – to maybe repair something between them, even if it was just their _friendship_, because Connor had once meant so much to Hank. Hank just didn’t know if he deserved the chance.  
  
“Dad?”  
  
Hank shook himself, glancing down at the boys who were both staring up at him, and realized they’d made it to the lake. “What's up?”  
  
“You okay?”

“Of course,” Hank lied, smiling broadly. “Ready to set up camp?”  
  
\--

They set up camp without too much trouble, and Hank and the boys headed out to catch their dinner. Chloe stayed in the tent, wary of insects.  
  
“Wish Papa was here,” Cole said after a few minutes of quiet. He glanced at Hank as if expecting a reprimand. None came. Hank wouldn’t begrudge his son for missing his father.  
  
“I promise we’re gonna work something out, bug,” Hank said, glancing toward Cole, then Camden. “You won’t have to go eleven years without each other again.”  
  
“Dad?”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“Why do you call us bug? Or goose, sometimes.”  
  
Hank blinked. "They’re just nicknames. Started when you two were babies, really. Goose for Camden, bug for Cole.”  
  
The boys shared a glance. “You can tell us apart?”  
  
“You boys don’t make it easy,” Hank said pointedly. “But I’m getting better.”  
  
Camden leaned over to rest his head against Hank’s arm. “I’m glad I got to come on the trip with you.”  
  
“Me too, goose.” He glanced toward Cole, staring absently out at the water. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to spend this weekend with your papa, Cole.”  
  
Cole shrugged. “’S not your fault. At least Cam got to come.”

“Do you want to come next year?”  
  
Camden looked up at Hank. “Yeah. I’d like that.”  
  
Hank nodded, bringing his arm around Camden’s back to pat his shoulder. “All right. I’ll make sure it happens.”  
  
“Are you mad that you have to talk to Papa so Camden and I can hang out now?”

Hank looked over at Cole, who had his cheek in his hand, elbow resting on his knee as he sat criss-cross with his fishing pole in the other hand.  
  
“'Course not, bug,” Hank said. “Your Papa and I to learn how to be friends again anyway.”

“I think you can do it,” Camden said reassuringly. "He's kinda bad at making friends, but you seem like you're good enough for both of you."  
  
Hank huffed out a soft laugh, bending down to kiss the top of Camden’s head. “Thanks goose.”

—  
  
Hank had known Chloe wasn’t exactly the outdoor type, but by the end of their first evening at the campsite, he could tell he’d underestimated just how _not_ outdoorsy she was.  
  
“Chloe, aren’t you going to eat your fish?” Cole asked politely.

Camden glanced toward him, pausing from shoveling fish into his mouth with a camp utensil to knocked against his elbow. Cole elbowed back, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t eat trout,” Chloe replied, distain dripping from every syllable. “I will wait for breakfast. What are we having?”  
  
Cole glanced at Hank, looking trepidatious. “Trout.”

Chloe looked to Hank for confirmation. He could only shrug because… well, Cole was right. They pretty much only ate what they could catch on their camping trips – with the exception of some power bars and marshmallows.

Chloe sighed heavily and pushed herself to her feet. “I am going to bed.”  
  
“I’ll join you in a bit,” Hank said. “After the fire’s gone down.”  
  
“Don’t you wanna make s’mores, Chloe?” Cole asked. He glanced at Camden, as if waiting for another elbow to the side. “It’s the best part of camping.”  
  
“No,” Chloe said. She looked pointedly at the boys and leaned down, steadying her hands on Hank’s shoulders so she could plant a deep, filthy kiss on Hank’s lips. It felt far more like a ‘fuck you, I’m marrying your dad’ to the boys than a gesture that was in any way meant for Hank. He wasn’t sure he liked that.  
  
He pulled back, patting her on the cheek. “Sleep tight, Chloe.”

\--  
  
Back at the ranch, Connor absolutely was not hiding.  
  
Never mind that he was absolutely enveloped in the presence of his ex-husband's life. The house was homey, and despite the knowledge that Hank was engaged, there was no sign of a woman's touch anywhere.

Never mind that all of the pictures on the wall were of Cole, showing Connor the clear progression of the childhood he'd missed his son having. He was happy and Connor was so very glad that Hank had given him that, but Connor knew Cole had no idea what he'd been missing.

He wondered if giving the boys each other now was good for them going forward, or if it would lead to regrets over what they had missed.  
  
Connor couldn't shake the dread of Cole growing to resent him someday for choosing Camden to raise. It had been a fear before Cole had known about Connor, and it was a steadily growing terror ever since.  
  
One perk of being in such a large house was that there was a lot of space in which Connor could hide. Not that he was hiding. Because he wasn't hiding. He was simply... avoiding.  
  
He could hear Niles looking for him, but Connor had a book in hand and Sumo at his heel, looking for a quiet corner where the likelihood of being discovered was small.  
  
He wouldn't have minded an empty closet to sit in, despite the irony of it, but thought that it definitely counted as hiding if he was found reading in some random closet.  
  
He found Hank's study, the door open, but the overstuffed chair inside out of the way enough that it wasn't immediately visible from the doorway. Connor decided it was as good a place to read as any.  
  
He sat his book down on the arm of the chair, but before seating himself, his curiosity got the better of him. He glanced around the room, studying the framed letters and articles outlining the vineyard's history.  
  
In the corner, there was a record player on a stand, backed by two, large bookshelves lined with vinyl. Connor brushed his hand across the nearest shelf, plucking at a few to flip through and read the titles. Hank's vinyl collection had been decently sized when they were together, and by the looks of it, Hank had nearly tripled it in the time since. Connor was impressed.  
  
A strangely familiar sleeve was framed nearby, in a shadowbox clearly made to be opened with ease. Connor tilted his head, moving to inspect the title. It was clearly a favored record, if its status set apart from the rest of the collection and housed in a protective case was any indication. Connor couldn't place how he recognized it -- probably just from Hank's old collection.  
  
He perused Hank's collection a bit more, but his gaze kept straying to the record on the wall. He moved closer, glancing toward the door before he lifted his hands, gently opening the door on the shadow box and removing the record. It was titled L-O-V-E, dated 1965. Hank had always been a jazz connoisseur, Nat King Cole among his favorites, but... not enough that it indicated

why this record was special, apart from all the other jazz albums on the shelf.  
  
Connor delicately removed the sleeve from the shadowbox and turned it over in his hands to see the track list, wondering if the track list might spark a memory.  
  
Instead, a slip of paper fell to the ground from inside the sleeve. Connor quickly stooped to pick it up, and his breath caught in his chest when he realized what it was.  
  
*Anderson Wedding - Hank & Connor*  
  
Connor's eyes darted over the handwritten list, immediately recognizing the song list he and Hank had spent a full week curating for their wedding. The first song on the list was the title track from the album Connor held in his hands. No wonder he'd recognized it.  
  
Connor swallowed hard, gingerly sliding the record out of its sleeve and placing it down on the turntable. Connor switched it on, then gently sat the needle down at the edge of the record. Within a moment, the room filled with the rich, familiar song that had been Connor and Hank's first dance as a married couple.  
  
He stood there, as if in a trance, remembering his wedding. It had been November in Detroit, but it hadn't snowed yet that season. Rain threatened, but never fell. His twin had crashed an entire champagne flute tower to the ground at the reception trying to impress one of Hank’s coworkers. Connor had loved every moment of it.  
  
A knock at the door startled Connor out of his daze, turning wide-eyed toward the door as if he'd been caught. Which he had, Connor supposed. Niles stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. Connor swallowed hard, stepping back and perching on the corner of the sturdy, oak desk. "I meant it when I said it wasn't his fault."  
  
Niles lifted one eyebrow.  
  
"I _wanted_ it to be his fault," Connor said. "I blamed him for it for a long time. I wanted to hate him. But it was just as much me as it was him, and I can't blame him for it. I just can't."  
  
"I know I said I was going to make you tell me someday," Niles said after Connor fell silent. "But I think you should tell him."

Connor sucked in a deep breath. "I know, I know, I know."  
  
"It only hurts because you haven't let it heal, Connor," Niles said. "You need to talk to him. And probably a therapist, but-- Hank's a good start."  
  
Connor nodded miserably, wringing his hands in front of him. "I will."

"If you need a mediator, I'd be happy to do so," Niles said. "If you're afraid of it turning into another shouting match."  
  
"Maybe," Connor said. "But I-- I think I want one more shot at it. Before I make you babysit me any further than I've already made you."

Niles nodded. "Good."  
  
"Did you need something?" Connor asked, straightening his shoulders and composing himself.  
  
"Gavin and I are going to lunch," Niles said crisply. "He insists there is a bluff nearby with a perfect view."  
  
Connor raised his brows. "A picnic?"

"Yes. Will you be all right on your own for a few hours?"  
  
"Of course," Connor said. "I've got Sumo for company. Take your time."  
  
Niles nodded. "Thank you. We should be back before too long."  
  
"Have fun. One of us should."

Niles studied Connor for another moment before nodding again and turning on his heel to leave. Connor watched him go, still wringing his hands slightly, then stood. He moved to the record player and lifted the needle, moving the arm back to the outside of the record to start the song over again.  
  
\--

Hank woke to screaming.  
  
It had him on his feet faster than he'd ever moved in his life, unzipping the tent to see what the hell was happening.  
  
He made it outside to see Chloe in the middle of the lake, standing on her air mattress and freaking out. He sighed, glancing toward the boys' tent, where they were both peeking out the flaps of their tent, looking chagrined (on Cole's part) and amused (on Camden's).  
  
Chloe's flailing unset her balance on the air mattress and with an enormous splash, she fell into the lake. Hank watched for a moment, ready to swim out and rescue her if she continued her flailing, but she surfaced and began moving toward the shore easily. Hank stepped out of the tent, moving further out onto the beach as she stormed up from the water, fury painted across her face.  
  
"Listen, Hank," she began, her tone frigid as she wrung water from her once-neat ponytail. "I've tried to be nice to those little hellions, but I refuse to put up with this. The day we get married is the day I ship those two brats to Switzerland."  
  
Hank stared placidly at her as she raged at him a few moments more, listening to her fury as calmly as he could. It revealed more about her than the past months had, and in a sudden moment of clarity, Hank couldn't believe he'd thought Cole needed a mother badly enough to think the first woman who expressed interest would suffice.

"Are you listening to me, Hank?" Chloe said, pushing at his arm. "It's them or me, take your pick."  
  
Hank smiled. "Them."  
  
Chloe blinked at Hank's unhesitating response. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Them," Hank repeated. "I pick them."  
  
Chloe let out a strangled yell of inarticulate anger, yanking her engagement ring off her hand and throwing it at Hank's head from mere feet away. It stung a little, but he caught it as it fell and Chloe stormed toward the tent, packing her bag with as much rage as she could muster.  
  
"Why the fuck is my bag full of rocks?!"

Hank looked toward the boys, staring at him with wide-eyed expressions. "We will talk about this at home," Hank said firmly, before turning toward the tent Chloe was in. "Chloe?"  
  
"Don't fucking talk to me," she seethed.  
  
"Do you want me to drive you home, or would you rather I call the ranger station to come pick you up?"  
  
"I can hike to the goddamn ranger station, Hank," Chloe spat. "I'm not useless, your sons are just evil."  
  
"I'm sorry they floated your mattress out on the lake," Hank said patiently. "But please don't speak about them that way."

"You know, I actually liked you, Hank," Chloe said. "You're funny and charming and, yeah, you're fuckin' rich, too. And I thought I could put up with one kid, if he was as great as you said, but now there's two? And they both hate me. And maybe I should have cut my losses as soon as I saw you with your ex."  
  
Hank frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's Connor got to do with this?"  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes. "The way he looks at you when he thinks you're not looking? Why do you think I didn't want you coming out here to the middle of nowhere with him? Why do you think those two demons _wanted_ you to?"  
  
"They can't want a camping trip with their parents?" Hank asked.  
  
"Don't be stupid, Hank," Chloe said. "They're smart little bastards, I'll give them that. But you are, too."

Chloe closed the flap on her bag and pushed to her feet, still dripping on the floor of the tent. "Have a nice life, Hank. Don't call me. Ever."  
  
With that, Chloe pushed her way out of the tent and headed down the marked hiking trail toward the ranger station.

Hank emerged and went to the boys' tent. "Let's pack up, boys. We'll make sure she made it to the station and then head home."  
  
"We just got here," Cole said.  
  
"And now you're both grounded until you're forty," Hank responded. "We're out of here in thirty minutes."

"Yes sir," the boys mumbled, moving quickly to pack up their tent as Hank tucked the abandoned engagement ring into his shirt pocket and ducked back into his own tent.  
  
And once he was out of the boys' line of sight, he smiled, because he'd dodged a fuckin' bullet.  
  
\--

When they got back to the house, the boys grabbed their bags from the back and Hank headed inside, looking for Gavin or Connor or Niles. Or even Sumo, who usually heard the truck coming from halfway down the dirt road leading up to the house.

A jazz record was playing faintly, and Hank followed the sound all the way to his study. There, he found Sumo, curled at the foot of the oversized chair, his head resting on Connor’s knee. Connor was lounging in the chair, a mug balanced on the arm beside him as he pet Sumo’s

head absently. Hank’s heart skipped a beat as Connor looked up at him in surprise, doe-eyes wide behind a pair of round glasses, his curls sagging loose over his forehead. He looked comfortable – like he belonged there, in Hank’s favorite chair, drinking from a mug that had been a gift from Cole a few Father’s Day’s back. Hank’s chest squeezed tight with affection.  
  
“You’re back so soon,” Connor said, setting his book aside as he sat up, moving his mug so it wouldn’t spill. He glanced quickly toward the record player in the corner, as if wondering if Hank would be upset with him. “Is everything okay?”  
  
“Had to cut the trip a bit short,” Hank said, setting down the duffel bag that had been over his shoulder. He glanced behind him toward the twins, trailing him closely. “Those two are grounded until college.”

Connor raised a questioning brow, turning toward his sons for an explanation.  
  
“We played a couple harmless pranks on Chloe and she freaked out,” Camden said, shrugging as if her reaction was incomprehensible to him. “Don’t know how that was our fault.”

“They set her air mattress afloat in the lake. While she was asleep on it.”  
  
Connor’s expression widened in surprise. “Boys!”  
  
Cole shrugged. “It could have been fun if she hadn’t fallen off.”  
  
“Boys, go upstairs,” Connor said. “We’ll call you for dinner.”

As the boys went, Connor stood, wrapping his cardigan around himself. “Is Chloe all right?”  
  
“She’s fine,” Hank said. “The rangers will make sure she gets home safely.”  
  
“I’m sorry, Hank, if I hadn’t suggested she go—“

“Tricked is the word you’re looking for, I think,” Hank corrected. “Like father like sons.”  
  
Connor bit his lip. “Is she angry?”  
  
Hank fished the engagement ring out of his shirt pocket. “She threw this at my head.” Connor’s jaw dropped, a hand coming to his mouth. “Oh, Hank, no.”  
  
Hank shrugged, closing it in his fist. “At least it’s smaller than a hair dryer.”  
  
“Just because of the boys’ prank?” Connor asked. His brows were knit tightly in concern, as if Hank only had to say the word and Connor would find Chloe to grovel on his behalf. It sparked just the barest bit of hope in Hank’s chest that their relationship wasn’t doomed to animosity forever.  
  
Hank shook his head. “It’s for the best, I think,” he said quietly. “If Camden didn’t like her, I don’t think I could have married her anyway.”  
  
“But he’ll only be with you a few times a year,” Connor pointed out.  
  
“He’s still my son,” Hank said. He didn’t mention Chloe’s declaration that she wanted nothing to do with either of them. “And his opinion matters.”

Connor sighed, perching himself on the arm of the chair he’d been curled up in. “You’re a good dad, Hank. And I really am sorry.”  
  
“I’m not,” Hank said firmly. “And honestly, in hindsight, it was really funny.”

A shy smile curved the corners of Connor’s lips. “I can practically picture it.”  
  
Hank chuckled, taking a seat on the arm of the sofa, mirroring Connor. “I’m pretty sure you could have heard her screaming from here.”

Connor laughed, and Hank felt the hope in his chest spark a little brighter.  
  
“Where’s Gavin?” Hank asked, glancing around. “He’s nosy enough, I’d thought he’d be in here already.”  
  
“He and Niles left on a picnic around noon,” Connor said. “Yesterday.”

Hank’s brows rose as he grinned. “Really? My nanny, your brother. Who’d have thought?”  
  
“All of us,” Connor replied with a smile. “The tension was nigh unbearable.”  
  
Hank chuckled. “Guess I’ll be making dinner then.”  
  
“You cook now?” Connor asked, raising a cheeky eyebrow at Hank.  
  
“Yeah I can make pasta,” Hank said. “And, uh… pasta.”  
  
“Pasta sounds pretty good,” Connor teased, smiling at Hank.  
  
“Pasta it is.”  
  
“Hey Hank?”  
  
“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry about the other night,” Connor said, his gaze trained somewhere near Hank’s left hiking boot. “I was really nerve-wracked about the whole thing and… and I say things I don’t mean when I’m cornered. I really--I’d like to apologize.”

“You had every right to say what you said, Con,” Hank said.  
  
Connor tucked a stray lock of his hair back and took a breath, straightening as he looked Hank in the eye. “I’d really like to not be at each others throats all the time. I think it would mean a lot to the boys if we could be… friendly, at least.”  
  
Hank nodded, examining Connor with a soft gaze. “I’d like that, too, Con.”  
  
Connor smiled, ducking his head again and clasping his hands together in his lap. “Excellent.”  
  
“So, how was your weekend in an empty house?” Hank asked then, shooting for a more upbeat ambiance.  
  
Connor chuckled, nudging his glasses up his nose as he lifted his head. “Uneventful. Kind of nice, actually. I haven’t been alone in an empty house in a very long time.”  
  
“You suss out all my secrets?” Hank asked with a grin.

Connor pressed his lips together, suppressing a grin. “Not all of them, I’m sure.”  
  
“Couldn’t begrudge you a single one,” Hank said.  
  
Connor huffed out a soft laugh. “I did peruse your record collection,” he said. “It’s become pretty expansive since last I saw it.”

Hank noticed then what album was spinning on the turntable. His gaze flitted to the shadow box, resting open on the wall with the apparently empty sleeve inside. “You found my favorite album.”  
  
“I hope you don’t mind,” Connor said, clasping his hands together. “I remembered it.”

Hank smiled. “Course I don’t mind,” he said. “You’re the only person I’d listen to it with.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
Hank moved to the turntable and lifted the arm, starting the album from the beginning. Hank hadn’t been able to listen to the song in almost twelve years without crying by the end of it, but… it was different. Because Connor was here.  
  
**//L is for the way you look at me//**  
  
“Do you want to?” Hank asked, extending a hand.  
  
“Do I want to what?” Connor asked.  
  
“Dance.”

**//O is for the only one I see//**  
  
Connor swallowed visibly, staring at Hank’s hand with trepidation plain on his face.  
  
“We don’t have to,” Hank said, lowering his hand slightly.  
  
“No,” Connor said, taking a step forward. “I want to.”

**//V is very, very extraordinary//**  
  
Hank closed the distance between them, taking Connor’s hand in his. He’d never been especially talented at dancing, but Connor had been fond of it. They’d danced in their living room on more than one occasion, their hands joined together and Connor’s head resting gently on Hank’s shoulder.  
  
**//E is even more than anyone that you adore can//**  
  
“I don’t want to make excuses for how I treated you back then,” Hank said softly. “Just know that I never meant to hurt you.”

Connor looked up, staring up at Hank with those disarming brown eyes. Hank hadn’t stood a chance against those eyes the first time he saw them. He didn’t stand a chance now.  
  
“I was afraid,” Hank said, seizing the moment where they weren’t immediately at each other’s throats. He didn’t want to fight with Connor anymore. “You were so young and vibrant and you _wanted_ things. You wanted to design. You wanted to succeed. And I was afraid I was just going to hold you back. But after what you said the other night, I think I just—made you feel undesirable. Which was never true. Never my intention. I just wanted you to have everything you ever wanted, Connor, and I didn’t think that was me.”  
  
Connor was still watching him with a deep frown, but didn’t speak. So Hank continued. “Somewhere along the way I just – I couldn’t stop feeling like it we weren’t going to last. You gave me everything Connor. You gave me our sons, but I—I knew you had things you had wanted to do /before/ you started a family, and you were making a sacrifice for me. I was afraid you’d resent me if I didn’t make sure you got your dream.”  
  
Hank paused, taking a breath to steady himself as he swayed with Connor. He could feel tears pricking at the back of his eyes, but this was his chance. The one he didn’t deserve. “Eventually I was so worried about what I did and didn’t deserve from you that I couldn’t give you what _you_ deserved from me. And when you left, I knew I’d been right. Self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess.”

**//Love is all that I can give to you//**

“It wasn’t your fault,” Connor said finally, his voice grave. He met Hank’s gaze unwaveringly, like he was steeling himself against the confession but determined to make it anyway. “I _was_ afraid of never getting my firm off the ground. I felt like if it didn’t happen before the boys were born that I’d never get it back. But… I took you for granted. I assumed you’d be there, 24/7, exactly as I left you. And I took it personally. I didn’t stop to think that you were working to support us and let me pursue my dream job and make sure our babies were going to be taken care of. I didn’t consider the possibility that you weren’t making excuses for a fading attraction. You really were just tired. Because you were doing all the work so that I could be selfish.”

**//Love is more than just a game for two//**

Hank held his breath as Connor shifted his hand, stroking his thumb against the nape of Hank’s neck. “By the time they were born, we had already taken so many wrong turns. I had my illusions of what you thought of me, and I decided that if you were too preoccupied to touch me

then I’d save you the time. I started picking fights at the drop of a hat because I was hurt and scared and exhausted, and you fought back because – because you were just as hurt and scared and exhausted.”

**//Two in love can make it//**

“I wanted you to have the whole world, sweetheart,” Hank said. “It felt like you were always on the verge of flying away and I didn’t want you to be saddled with an old man like me.”  
  
“What else would you think?” Connor asked, bringing his hand from Hank’s neck to brush a tear

Hank hadn’t realized was running down his cheek. “It’s all I led you to believe. And I wanted you blame you for it so badly. For promising me forever and then taking it away once we had kids and responsibilities to share. But by the time I stopped letting that selfish hurt cloud my vision it was... far too late. I didn’t know how to fix it. I don’t know how to fix us, Hank.”

**//Take my heart and please don’t break it//**

“I’m sorry,” Connor breathed, turning his head to press his forehead against Hank’s neck. Just like he’d done years ago – before they had children to worry about and they’d just been – young. Young and in love and under the impression that love was enough to carry them through fights and hurt feelings and emotional distance without actually talking about any of those things. “I’m so sorry, Hank.”

**//Love was made for me and you//**

“Connor, I—“  
  
The sound of the front door opening might as well have been a gunshot for how quickly it broke the moment. Hank and Connor sprang apart, Connor’s hands quickly meeting in front of him to wring at each other.   
  
“That will be Niles and Gavin,” he said softly.

Hank brushed a tear from his own cheek with a rough swipe of his hand.  
  
“Hey! We’re back!” Gavin’s voice called loudly. “Was that Hank’s truck outside?”  
  
“I’ll start dinner,” Hank said. He hesitated a moment longer, knowing the moment was shattered, but also not wanting to leave Connor. He didn’t know if he’d get another moment like that with him. But either way, Hank supposed, it was already over.  
  
Connor nodded quickly, composing himself before Niles and Gavin rounded the corner.  
  
The record kept playing.   
  
\--

Hank made good on his promise of pasta, whipping up a simple but hearty meat sauce and a big pot of spaghetti with a minimal amount of cursing coming from the kitchen. Connor took the few moments to try and get a story out of Niles, who was tight lipped but looking more self-satisfied than Connor had ever seen him before. Gavin wouldn't leave them alone, lingering at the edges of the room and staring at Niles when he thought Niles wasn't looking, so Connor could draw his own conclusions about that.  
  
Connor allowed the boys to come downstairs to set the table before dinner, and somehow, despite these six people having barely spent any time all together, it was the most natural thing in the world. Connor didn't have time to lament lost family dinners while he was watching his boys animatedly discuss the exact pitch of Chloe's scream when she encountered a lizard on her water bottle; watching Hank chuckle into his glass of water while the boys were turned away; watching Cole pressed to Niles' side while Camden elbowed Gavin in the ribs for stealing the last piece of garlic toast. The ones they had missed didn't matter, as long as Connor was present for this one.  
  
After dinner, the boys asked if they could play a board game, and, given that they only had a little more time together, Hank and Connor agreed that they could. They played a few rounds of Clue before Connor sent the boys upstairs to shower before they headed to bed. Niles and Gavin disappeared toward the back porch, leaving Hank and Connor in the living room cleaning up the game.  
  
"So, I was thinking," Hank began after a few moments of silence. "Since, uh. Since Europeans don't celebrate Thanksgiving, maybe Camden could come here for Thanksgiving, and then I'll

send Cole to you for Christmas."  
  
"I'd be happy to send them both to your for New Years' if you'd like," Connor said. "So you can have a Christmas with them, too."

"Or we could all have Christmas together," Hank offered. "You and Cam could... fly out. Stay the week. Or Cole and I could come to you, if you'd rather see a white Christmas."  
  
Connor smiled, tight-lipped, almost sad. "I don't think that's in the cards, Hank."

"I think the boys would really like to have Christmas with the both of us," Hank pressed on.

"Doesn't have to be the whole week if you don't want."  
  
"Hank," Connor said, pushing the boxed up board game toward the center of the coffee table and sitting up. "It's not-- I think they'd love it. But I don't think it's a good idea. They already have their hopes up. They have... ideas about us. And I don't want to encourage it."  
  
"Why not?" Hank asked. Connor was certain the curiosity was genuine.  
  
"I'm happy to stay in contact so we can make sure the boys get their time with each other and with us," Connor said, brushing his hand down the front of his shirt. "But I can't pretend that our situation is simple or that this is going to be easy. I'm not going to keep taking advantage of you, Hank."  
  
"You haven't--"  
  
"I have."

"It isn't an imposition to have you here for Christmas," Hank insisted. "It isn't an imposition to have you here at all."  
  
Connor smiled wryly. "I appreciate that, Hank," he said. "But I'm afraid I must put my foot down."  
  
Hank's brow furrowed, obviously unhappy.

Connor stood, moving to return the board game to the shelf the boys had picked it from. "You and I are only just learning how to be around each other again," Connor said softly. "I don't want to ruin this before we can find our friendship, Hank."  
  
"I don't think visiting for Christmas is going to destroy our ability to coparent," Hank said, standing and moving toward Connor.  
  
Connor drew a deep, slow breath and released it just as slowly, turning from the shelf and letting his gaze rest on Hank. "Not this year."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Hank, you must know."

"I promise you, Connor, I have no idea why this would be an issue."  
  
Connor reached out a hand, pausing before his fingertips made contact with Hank's shirt, curling in and pressing into his own palm instead.  
  
"You and Camden are always welcome here," Hank said firmly.

Connor nodded absently, his fingers twitching, desperate to feel the warm cotton of the shirt stretched across Hank's chest. "I know."  
  
"We _want_ you here."  
  
He felt Hank's warm, calloused touch wrap around his wrist and he looked up from where he'd been staring absently at the four neat buttons running down from the collar of Hank's shirt. "I don't know how to do that, Hank. I don't know how to... to pretend we're a family."  
  
“I think we did pretty all right tonight," Hank offered gently.  
  
Connor shook his head faintly. "Tonight was... goodbye."

"Don't say that, Con," Hank said, tugging Connor gently by the wrist even as he stepped closer.  
  
"Some things are just too good to last, Hank. We won't get another night like that."  
  
"And we can't even try?"

Connor shook his head. "It's okay, Hank. It's... easier this way."  
  
"Easier? Than what?"  
  
There was a squeak from the stairs signalling footsteps approaching. Connor withdrew his hand from Hank's grasp and looked toward the stairs. Connor wasn't sure at the glance, with damp hair and unfamiliar pajamas, if it was Cole or Camden who stopped halfway down, just far enough to duck his head, peer through the railing bars, and see into the living room. "We're ready for bed. Will you come say good night?"  
  
"Of course, bug," Hank said. "Be right there."

He returned upstairs with another squeak of a loose step and Connor could feel Hank's eyes on him.  
  
"Camden can come for Thanksgiving and New Years," Connor said quietly. "We can debate Easter closer to spring."

Hank didn't say anything, but then Connor didn't give him much chance. He turned and headed upstairs to say goodnight to his sons without waiting to see if Hank was following.  
  
\--

Connor was almost asleep when he heard his door creak open. He opened bleary eyes to see a head of blond hair creeping hesitantly toward his bed. "Papa?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Can I sleep with you?"  
  
Connor nodded, his eyes falling shut again. The edge of the guest bed mattress dipped and a

small, warm body settled in beside Connor. Connor easily draped an arm around his son and relaxed once more.  
  
"I'll miss you."  
  
Connor blinked his eyes open again. "I'll miss you too, Cole."  
  
"Are you gonna come back?"  
  
"You're going to come to London for Christmas."

"No, are you gonna come back /here/?"  
  
Connor pulled Cole a little closer. "No, sweetheart. I'm not."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I think if I come back, I won't want to leave," Connor said honestly. He chuckled softly then, placing a kiss in Cole's hair. "It's very pretty here in California."

"Then why don't you stay?"  
  
Connor shook his head. "I can't do that either."  
  
"You could," Cole said.  
  
"I'd miss Grandma Amanda too much," Connor said, deflecting.  
  
"She can come visit. We can grow her a rosebush so she feels at home."  
  
Connor smiled. "You know, I bet you could do that anyway. She'd give you tips, and then you can send her pictures of how it's growing."  
  
Cole shifted in Connor's embrace, nuzzling his ear against Connor's arm. "I just wish you could stay."  
  
"I know," Connor said, stroking the soft pajamas on Cole's back. "But I'll see you soon. And you can call me any time you want to. I'll always want to talk to my boy."  
  
"I love you, Papa."  
  
"I love you too, sweetheart."  
  
Cole snuggled deeper into Connor's chest and he felt a pang of sadness over having to disappoint Cole this way. He could only hope, as he had always hoped, that Cole would understand someday that it was just as hard for Connor as it was for Cole.  
  
Cole's 'why' would resonate in Connor's mind long after his son had fallen asleep, and keep Connor awake along with it.  
  
\--

The morning was quiet as Connor, Camden, and Niles packed their things to depart. The sky was dark and pouring rain, matching the somber mood of the household. Their ride arrived outside the ranch as they were saying their goodbyes. Camden hugged Gavin and Hank, in that order,

whispering quiet but collected goodbyes to each of them. Cole, meanwhile, said farewell to his uncle Niles before leaping into Connor's arms. After they had said goodbye to everyone else, the twins embraced each other for a long moment.  
  
"See you at Thanksgiving,"

Camden said quietly, pulling away. He straightened his shoulders in that same way Connor did when he was trying to regain his control. Hank's heart tugged a little at the sight.  
  
"Let us know when you get home," Hank said, voice a little gruff from emotion.  
  
Camden nodded.

"Let's go," Connor said quietly -- reluctantly, Hank was pretty sure. Camden stepped forward to quickly hug Hank one more time, then followed Connor to the car. Niles was already there, opening the door for Camden and Connor to slide inside before taking the front passenger seat

for himself.  
  
The taxi pulled away and nobody left on the porch even thought to make a move until the last speck of it had disappeared down the laneway.  
  
Gavin left first, sighing heavily as he went inside. Cole stepped a little closer to Hank, and Hank planted a hand on his shoulder, squeezing a little in reassurance.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yeah bug?"  
  
"I don't know how you let Papa go twice," he said, looking up to meet Hank's gaze. "He's amazing."  
  
"I know, bug," Hank said. "But I can't make him stay."  
  
"Did you ask him to?"  
  
There was a response on the tip of Hank's tongue, a gentle deflection. But then the question sank in. What Cole was asking. And honestly...  
  
"No. I guess I didn't."  
  
Cole's brows furrowed. "Dad. He thinks you don't want him to stay."  
  
"Cole, it's not that simple. He knows we want him here."

"Dad, I know you're still in love with him," Cole said firmly. "You just gotta tell _him_ that."  
  
Hank couldn't argue with that. Connor's words before their fight on the boat rang through Hank's head. _I left and you didn’t come after me._

"He wants you to ask him to stay."  
  
Hank ran a hand down his face, rubbing across his beard as he heaved out a deep breath. "You're right."  
  
"So what are we gonna do now? Are you gonna ask him to come back for Thanksgiving?"  
  
Hank squeezed Cole's shoulder again.  
  
\--

It was cool and gray but not raining when the car pulled up in front of Amanda's neat, fenced-in house. Connor stepped out, retrieved their bags from the cabbie as he unloaded them from the back, and tipped him for their ride.  
  
Niles opened the gate, holding it for Camden and Connor as their headed up the walk to the house.  
  
"Mother?" Connor called as they stepped into the house.  
  
There was no reply, so Connor assumed she was either in the garden in the back or in the study and couldn't hear. Niles headed upstairs with an armful of bags and Camden

beelined into the study, likely also looking for Amanda.  
  
Connor deposited his bag near the stairs and followed Camden into the study. It took Connor a moment to process what he found there.  
  
Seated behind Amanda's desk, looking pleased as punch, was Cole. "Hi Papa."

"Cole? What... what are you doing here?"  
  
"It took us, like, 30 seconds after you guys left to realize that we didn't want to lose you two again. So we're doing something about it."  
  
Connor's breath caught in his throat when he realized what Cole was implying. "...We?"

"We."  
  
Connor's gaze flew to the opposite corner, where Hank had been standing just out of his periphery. Solid. Strong. Here. "You--"  
  
"Cole made me realize how stupid I was for not asking you to stay," Hank said. "So I'm here to ask you to stay with me."

"So you came to /London/?"  
  
“I made the mistake of not coming after you once, Connor,” Hank said. “I couldn't do that again."  
  
"So... what? Connor shook his head incredulously. There were too many emotions for Connor to process. Hank had /come after him/.

"I suppose you expect me to go weak at the knees? Just—fall into your arms and cry hysterically and—and say that we’ll figure this whole thing out? All our past issues and a bi-continental relationship? Do you expect that you and I can just pick up where we left off?

Connor swallowed hard, feeling small as he met Hank’s unwavering gaze. “What do you expect, Hank? For us to live happily ever after?”  
  
“Yes."  
  
Hank's voice was gentle and confident when he stepped forward, nearly toe to toe with Connor, it nearly broke the already fragile grasp Connor had on his composure. His hand came up to brush the line of Connor’s jaw. His hand was firm, as if to keep Connor’s gaze on him, but it wasn’t necessary. Connor couldn’t have looked away from those earnest, blue eyes if his life depended on it. And right now Connor felt as if it did

"But you don't have to cry hysterically."  
  
Connor swallowed hard, already feeling the tears that he'd been holding back all weekend pricking at his eyes. "Yes I do." He stepped forward, bridging what little space was left between them and rested his hand against Hank's chest. "Goddamn it, Hank," Connor whispered, feeling his voice break even at this pitch.

  
“Please, Con,” Hank said, his voice barely a whisper – as if he thought anything louder would shatter Connor before he received his answer. It was too late for that, though. Connor’s

resolve had already split to pieces with the first shiver Hank’s voice had sent down his spine. “Say we can try again.”  
  
“All I ever wanted was for you to come after me,” Connor said, the first tear dripping down his cheek. “I’m sorry it took me so long,” Hank replied. “I swear I won’t let it happen again.”  
  
Connor grabbed Hank’s lapel, fisting it tightly between his fingers as he pulled Hank even closer. He ached to kiss him.  
  
But they needed to be on the same page first.

“If it happens again, _I’m_ coming after _you_,” Connor said fiercely. A threat, but also a promise.  
  
Hank chuckled, the low rumble sending a thrill through Connor’s veins. “I won’t test you, sweetheart.”  
  
Connor closed the gap, crushing his lips desperately against Hank’s. Hank’s arms finally came up to curl around Connor’s back, holding him close as they kissed. When Connor pulled back for air, sharing breath with Hank in the narrow space between them, the boys were cheering.

Connor couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face, or the breathless laugh that escaped him as he glanced toward the twins.  
  
"Is that a yes?" Hank asked, his voice low and deep and directly against Connor's ear. "Will you stay with me? With us?"

Connor nodded, bringing his hand up to brush against Hank's beard. "Yes."  
  
Hank leaned forward to press a kiss to Connor's forehead, still holding him close. "I still love you, Con. I never stopped."  
  
"I've loved you since the day we met, Hank," Connor said. "I don't want to fuck it up this time."  
  
"We're in it together this time, Con," Hank said. "We can do it together."  
  
Connor nodded again, pulling Hank closer for another kiss. "Together."  
  
\--

Hank poured the pasta through the colander to strain the water, shaking a few times to get the majority out, then returned it to the pot where his homemade tomato pesto waited. He tossed the pasta to coat it, then headed for the dining room. "Dinner is served, gentlemen."

Cole and Camden clapped, grinning as Hank sat down the pasta dish in the middle of the table.

"Oh, hey Con, can you grab the bread?"  
  
Connor stood, pressing a kiss to Hank's cheek as he passed, headed for the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a basket of homemade bread. "I'm excited for this new addition to your cooking repertoire," Connor teased gently.  
  
"Soon I will master the art of making every carb from scratch," Hank replied.  
  
Connor smiled, his nose wrinkling slightly. "Who knew dating came with so many perks?"

"I could've told you that, darlin'."  
  
"I think you did, baby."  
  
"I definitely did, sweetcheeks."  
  
"You're doing it again," Camden announced loudly.  
  
Hank chuckled, leaning back in his seat as he looked toward his sons, both rolling their eyes good-naturedly. "Sorry, goose, but you signed up for this."  
  
"I don't think we did," Cole said skeptically.  
  
"You did," Connor said, smiling into his water glass. "You wanted your dads to get back together and now you have to deal with us being gross and in love in front of you."

Camden sighed heavily, as if incredibly put out by the notion. Cole wrinkled his nose a little. "I guess."  
  
"Are Gavin and Uncle Niles coming over to watch the ball drop?" Camden asked.  
  
"No, they're coming over tomorrow to take you two to the movies," Hank said. "And your papa and I are going on a date."  
  
"Popcorn and movies until midnight?"  
  
"Of course, bug," Hank said. "You and Camden can each pick one."

"Cheesy popcorn?" Camden asked.  
  
"You know it, goose."  
  
The boys grinned, tucking into their pasta. Hank felt Connor's hand on his shoulder as he leaned in close. "Niles said they'd be here by noon tomorrow and they'll keep the boys overnight, which means we have the house to ourselves alllllll day tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah? Got big plans for me?"  
  
Connor smiled devilishly. It was an expression Hank was very much enjoying being reacquainted with. "Maybe."  
  
Hank chuckled. "That's not a 'maybe' expression on your face."

Connor shrugged, drawing back and moving his hand from Hank's shoulder to the table. "Guess you'll have to wait and see."  
  
Hank reached out and placed his hand over Connor's. "Hey Con?"  
  
"Yes, Hank?" Connor answered with a grin, turning his hand over until he could hold Hank's

hand properly.  
  
"I love you."  
  
Connor's expression softened. "I love you too, baby."  
  
"I'm so glad you're here," Hank said. "I'll miss you when you're in London."  
  
"I'll miss you, too," Connor said. "But it's only two weeks this time, and we've still got all day tomorrow."

Hank lifted their entwined hands to kiss the back of Connor's. "I can't wait, my love."  
  
Connor's smile was warm and dazzling. "Me either."  
  
"What do you guys think we should do next year?" Hank asked, raising his voice a bit to address the boys.  
  
"Camping!" Camden said.

"DisneyLand!" Cole added. "Cam's never been!"  
  
"You guys wanna go back to your summer camp?" Hank asked. The twins nodded in tandem.  
  
"We should host a party," Connor suggested, his gaze still on Hank. "I'm thinking summer. Close friends and family. I'll get Silas and Amanda to fly out."  
  
Hank raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What's the occasion?"  
  
"Us."  
  
The twins' eyes grew wide in unison.  
  
"Us?" Hank repeated.  
  
"Yes. I've been thinking about it. I, um... found our old rings," Connor said, pulling them out from his sweater pocket and setting them on the table between them. "And I think we should put them to use again."  
  
"Connor, are you asking me to marry you?"  
  
Connor smiled. "Are you going to say yes?"  
  
"I asked you first, sweetheart."

"Yes," Connor replied, his soft brown gaze never leaving Hank's for a moment. "I am asking you to marry me. Again."  
  
"Then I am saying yes," Hank replied, dragging Connor's chair closer with his foot. "I will marry you." He leaned forward, kissing Connor sweetly.

"Most people wait until midnight, Papa."  
  
Hank could feel Connor's grin against his lips. He withdrew, smiling at the boys.   
  
"I guess I'm just really impatient to spent the rest of my life with your dad. I missed out on a lot, and I don't want to miss anything else."

"Me too," Hank murmured, tipping Connor's face back toward his own for another kiss. Connor's hands on his face and his lips on Hank's own were all the promise Hank needed that this year was going to be the first of many with his family happy, whole, and together.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on twitter @mothmanwashere


End file.
